Ashok Soota has finally let go of Mindtree, the IT venture that he had co-founded with nine other partners in 1999. Soota made an unceremonious exit in 2011 after it failed to capitalise on the acquisition of the research and development unit of mobile technology provider, Kyocera Wireless. He recently sold his remaining 3.5% stake to entrepreneur VG Siddhartha. In doing so, Siddhartha, who runs the country’s largest coffee chain under the Café Coffee Day brand, has emerged as the single-largest shareholder in the firm with an 18% stake. The 1.36 million shares changed hands through a bulk deal valued at ₹64.6 crore — at a premium of over 7% to the closing price of ₹441.95. The possibility of an open offer seems remote following the new takeover code, which has increased the trigger for an open offer to 25% from the earlier 15%. For now, the company seems to be doing well — net profit saw a two-fold jump in Q3FY12 to ₹61 crore on the back of robust IT-services demand. The Street, too, is bullish on the stock, given the attractive valuation of 7.5-8 times estimated FY13 earnings.