SBI bought nearly 48 per cent stake in Yes Bank as a part of RBI’s reconstruction plan in March 2020. It is now considering selling 24 per cent stake
State Bank of India plans to sell 24 per cent of its stake in Yes Bank, worth around Rs 184.2 billion, by the end of the financial year 2024-25. It has held discussions with Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Dubai-based Emirates NBD regarding the sale. Both are ahead in the race to buy stake in Yes Bank, a report by Reuters said.
“Both the bidders are interested in acquiring a majority 51 per cent stake in Yes Bank to get sizeable control of the bank’s business,” said a source reportedly.
However, when Reuters reached out to Yes Bank on the matter, the bank denied the claims. “No Comments to offer regarding the stake sale as these inquiries are speculative in nature,” said the bank.
Yes Bank was founded by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapoor in 2004. It went to become India’s fifth-largest private lender in terms of market capitalisation. But it came under RBI’s radar after the central bank did an asset quality reviews in 2017 and 2018. The governance issue with the bank started surfacing and consequently, changes in the management was made.
RBI intervened and imposed a 30-day moratorium on the bank in March 2020. It launched a reconstruction gameplan and offered a maximum of 49 per cent to SBI. SBI bought nearly 48 per cent stake in March 2020.
Apart from SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank hold nearly 9.74 per cent stake. Around 16.05 per cent stake in Yes Bank is held by private equity funds, CA Basque Investments and Verventa Holdings. The remaining is owned by investors and public.
On August 13, the shares of the banking firm concluded the trading session at Rs 24.12 price level, down by nearly 1.23 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.