Axis Bank raises Rs 12,500 crore through QIP

Private lender Axis Bank on Thursday announced the opening of its qualified institutions placement (QIP) last week to raise funds to enhance its capital adequacy for its growth strategy and general corporate purposes.

The QIP was approved by bank shareholders through a postal ballot on August 21. "We understand that the transaction is the largest ever QIP by a private sector issuer in India," the bank said in a statement.

"Despite a challenging macro-economic and market environment, the placement has witnessed strong reception from the global and domestic investor community. The deal was oversubscribed with the aggregate final transaction size being Rs 12,500 crore."

The QIP issuance was done at a price of Rs 629 per equity share at a tight discount of 1.44 per cent over the closing price of the issue opening date, that is September 19. The QIP issuance price of Rs 629 per equity share is at a discount of 4.91 per cent to the floor price of Rs 661.50 per equity share, determined as per the SEBI formula.

The transaction was anchored by several large marquee foreign portfolio investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies.

"The reception for the QIP is an endorsement of Axis Bank and its strong fundamentals," said Managing Director and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry. "We are excited about the opportunities that will be created through this capital raise."

Axis Bank is the third-largest private sector bank in India. It offers a vast spectrum of services to customer segments covering large and mid-corporates, small and medium enterprises, agriculture and retail businesses.

With 4,094 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 11,950 ATMs, the bank's network is spread across 2,380 cities and towns. It also has 10 ten overseas offices.

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