RBL Bank IPO to open tomorrow

RBL Bank will hit the capital markets tomorrow to raise over Rs 1,200 crore through an initial share-sale programme, the first IPO by a private sector lender in a decade.

The plan includes raising up to Rs 832.50 crore through the issue of fresh shares and up to Rs 380.46 crore in an offer for sale by existing shareholders.

The share sale, accounting for 10-11 per cent stake, will give the bank a valuation of over Rs 12,000 crore.

RBL Bank, formerly known as Ratnakar Bank, has fixed a price band of Rs 224-225 for the share sale. The IPO will be open for public subscription on August 19 and close on August 23.

The IPO was stuck for quite some time due to a pending case which the bank recently settled with the markets regulator Sebi, paving way for the the share sale.

It can be noted that Yes Bank was the last private sector lender to hit the capital markets in 2005. Taking into account state-run banks as well, Punjab and Sind Bank last went public in India six years ago in 2010.

With the RBI announcing on-tap licences for full-fledged banks, the number of banks hitting the markets is bound to increase as the regulations call for mandatory listing within a defined time-frame.

Existing investors, including Beacon India Private Equity and GPE, will sell shares through the IPO.

The Kolhapur-headquartered RBL Bank had made a pre-IPO placement of 2.5 crore equity shares at Rs 195 per share last year to CDC Group, DVI Fund, Rimco and Asian Development Bank.

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley are global merchant bankers for the deal, while HDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, IDFC Securities, IIFL and SBI Caps are the lead managers for the local market.