At a time when the government has proposed to hike foreign direct investment in the telecom sector, private equity fund Warburg Pincus has reduced its stake in Bharti Televentures by 3.35 per cent to bring its stake down to 15.17 per cent.

According to a statement submitted by the company to the stock exchange, it said: "We have been informed with respect to sale of 62,000,000 equity shares of Bharti Televentures constituting 3.35 per cent of the total paid up capital of the company by M/s Brentwood Investment Holdings Ltd."

Sources said that the deal was carried out by Citigroup Global Markets and the shares were sold through Brentwood Investment Holdings which is an arm of Warburg Pincus.

According to sources, the shares were sold at Rs 155 and immediately after that share prices crashed to Rs 146.80 during the mid-day 7.4 per cent down from the previous close.

After the sale, Warburg Pincus holds 281,215,268 equity shares in Bharti Televentures equivalent to 15.17 per cent of the total paid-up capital, Bharti statement said.

According to sources, SingTel, which is the largest foreign equity partner in the company holds about 28 per cent with promoters having over 46 per cent stake.