Carlyle, Advent get conditional nod from RBI for 9.99% in Yes Bank

Private equity majors The Carlyle Group and Advent have got the Reserve Bank's nod to own up to 9.99 per cent in Yes Bank, the private sector lender said on Thursday.

The two PE funds in July this year expressed an intent to pump-in over Rs 8,000 crore in Yes Bank subject to regulatory permissions. Regulatory nod is required for owning over 5 per cent in a bank.

In a stock exchange filing, Yes Bank said through separate letters on November 30, RBI has given conditional approval for both the funds to own 9.99 per cent of the paid-up share capital of the lender by subscribing to equity shares and share warrants.

the investors (Carlyle and Advent) are evaluating the conditions. The investors and the bank will engage with the RBI to seek an early resolution of the conditions to procure the final approval on this matter, the statement added.

Yes Bank had to be bailed out by fellow lenders in a RBI-led scheme in 2020, after alleged malfeasance by its founders led to a huge chunk of loans turning sour. The SBI-led scheme had to be implemented after the bank failed to raise capital.

The investment by the PE funds will be one of the biggest in the banking sector in recent times, and was announced after the bank was able to make progress on a plan to house nearly Rs 50,000 crore of bad loans in a newly carved asset reconstruction company, for which it has tied up with JC Flowers.

Yes Bank shares closed 0.58 per cent down at Rs 17.05 apiece on the BSE on Friday, as against gains of 0.29 per cent on the benchmark.