Yes Bank to delay Q3 results till mid-March, says management 'deeply engaged' in fundraising

Troubled lender Yes Bank on Wednesday said the financial results for the third quarter ended December 2019 will be delayed and is expected by mid-March as the management is "deeply engaged" in fundraising exercise.

"As you are aware, the bank is currently engaged in capital raising. In this regard, we wish to disclose that we have received non-binding expressions of interest from several prominent investors.

"Given that the current capital-raising process has the bank's fullest attention, it would like to inform the exchanges that it will publish its unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ending December 31, 2019, on or before March 14, 2020," it said in a regulatory filing.

Yes Bank said it has received non-binding expressions of interest from companies including JC Flowers & Co. LLC; Tilden Park Capital Management LP; OHA (UK) LLP (part of Oak Hill Advisors); and Silver Point Capital.

"The bank and its financial advisors are currently in discussions with these investors on the commercial terms, including pricing, of their investments which, it may be noted, will be subject to certain conditions and receipt of requisite approvals, including regulatory approvals with respect to the size of the stake to be acquired, as well as necessary dispensations with regard to applicable pricing guidelines," it said.

The private sector lender said the delay in financial results exceeds the 45-day period from the end of the relevant quarter as stipulated under Regulation 33 of the Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

It also said the bank will further inform about the progress with respect to capital raising.

On November 3, Chief Executive Officer Ravneet Gill had said the bank was aiming to finish a USD 1.2-billion equity-raising exercise by December 2019 and willing to give new investors a board seat.

Earlier in August, it had raised Rs 1,930.46 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) to fund its business expansion.

In January this year, Moody's Investors Service placed Yes Bank Ltd's long-term foreign currency issuer rating of 'B2' under review, with the direction uncertain on the bank's inability to raise new capital.

The Mumbai-headquartered lender had total assets of Rs 3.5 lakh crore at the end of September 2019.

Shares of Yes Bank on Wednesday closed at Rs 35.20 apiece on the BSE, down 4.48 per cent from the previous close.