Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) dropped 7% on Wednesday on news that Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) has sold its entire 6.6% stake in the FTSE 100-listed luxury goods firm.
The sale of 27.6mln shares, first announced after the market close on Tuesday, was conducted via an accelerated bookbuild placing undertaken by Goldman Sachs.
READ: Burberry earnings to accelerate under new management team, says Goldman Sachs
GBL - the holding company of Belgian billionaire Albert Frere - said proceeds from the stake sale amounted to approximately £498mln or around 1,804p a share.
In early trading, Burberry shares were 7.2% lower at 1,748.5p.
The Belgian holding company said: "The divestment of this stake is part of GBL's dynamic strategy in terms of portfolio diversification and allows it to realise a capital gain."
The stake in Burberry sold by GBL represented approximately 3% of GBL’s most recently disclosed.