Indiabulls Housing Finance gets CCI nod to merge with Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Indiabulls Housing Finance said on Friday that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved its proposed merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

On April 5, private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Indiabulls Housing Finance had announced a merger plan in an all-stock deal.

"The Competition Commission of India ... at its meeting held on June 20 considered the proposed combination and approved the same," Indiabulls Housing Finance said in a statement. The scheme of amalgamation remains subject to receipt of applicable regulatory and other approvals."

The merged entity, to be called Indiabulls Lakshmi Vilas Bank, will be among the top eight private banks in India by size and profitability.

After the proposed merger, Indiabulls Housing Finance will get access to low-cost deposits, geographical diversification and expanded client-base and cross-selling opportunities.

The Indiabulls Group has been in talks with joint venture partner Blackstone Group and other leading developers like Godrej Properties to offload its stake in Indiabulls Real Estate so that it can focus on banking and finance businesses.

Last year, Blackstone had bought a 50 per cent stake in Indiabulls Real Estate office properties One Indiabulls and Indiabulls Finance Centre in central Mumbai for 730 million dollars (about Rs 5,088 crore).

Over the past year, the company has been streamlining its real estate portfolio by exiting office and residential projects in markets like Chennai.