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The main shareholder of Bandhan Bank is selling 337.4 million shares in the Indian lender in a block trade seeking to raise $1.4 billion, according to deal teams obtained by Bloomberg News.
Those shares are offered at a floor price of Rs 311.1 ($4.16) each, according to the terms. Books will close by 11:30 pm in Hong Kong on Aug. 2. and trading will start on Aug. 3.
Credit Suisse Securities (India) Private Limited, J.P. Morgan India Private Limited, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited and JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited are joint book-runners for the deal. Bandhan Bank is exploring options to further bring down promoter’s stake in the bank to the prescribed 40% of the paid-up equity capital, the lender had said in its annual report for 2019-20.
According to the licensing guidelines issued by the RBI, Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited (BFHL or NOFHC) the holding company of the bank is required to bring its excess shareholding to 40 per cent of the paid-up equity capital of the lender within three years from the commencement of operations.
Bandhan Bank had commenced operations as a universal bank in August 2018. “The Bank and NOFHC (non-operative financial holding company) have been exploring various options/opportunities to bring the shareholding to the prescribed level,” it said in the annual report for FY20.
The Kolkata-based private sector lender said it has achieved a significant milestone in its short life-span of 4 years by successfully completing the process of amalgamation of GRUH Finance into the bank, effective from October 17, 2019.
