On Friday, the Catholic Syrian Bank(CSB), promoted by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, filed for an initial public offer aimed at raising Rs 400 crore. The bank plans to raise Rs 30 crore by issuing fresh equity shares and the remaining Rs 370 crore from an offer for sale. It has one year after obtaining SEBI approval to initiate the IPO.
Local investment banks IIFL and Axis Capital are helping the bank go public. The document filed, known as the draft red herring prospectus, which was not uploaded on the websites of SEBI and the investment bankers to the issue at the time of going to the press.
CSB had previously filed for an IPO in 2015 that never took off. This issue will be a rare commercial banking IPO in India and the first since RBL BankNSE 4.69 % listed at the end of August 2016.
Fairfax holds 51% of the bank’s equity and three local insurance companies each have a 2.5% stake. The rest is divided among individuals based in India and abroad.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Bank Outlook for the Week