Mumbai: Market watchers are somewhat surprised at the decision of Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, the promoters of Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) to sell their 86% stake in SRL to the listed Fortis Healthcare (India) ahead of the proposed public issue.

The Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for SLR’s IPO was filed with the capital market regulator, just a couple of months back, in 2011.

It’s possible say observers that given the volatile market conditions, the promoters would prefer to cash out with an independent valuer assessing the value of the business rather than risk uncertainty.

Also, once SRL is listed, the promoters will have to wait for at least 12 months before they can sell a stake. The lead mangers to the SRL issue, have informed SEBI and are waiting for the regulator’s response.

The buyout by Fortis is intended to be a consolidation exercise to bring SRL’s diagnostics business…