Bain Capital nominee Ashish Kotecha steps down from board of Axis Bank

Ashish Kotecha, non-executive director of Axis Bank, nominated by Bain Capital, has stepped down from the board of the private sector lender, according to a regulatory filing. This comes after the direct shareholding of entities affiliated with Bain Capital in the bank came down below two per cent.

On Wednesday, Business Standard reported that Bain Capital had sold shares worth Rs 3,737 crore in Axis Bank. Three affiliate firms, BC Asia Investments VII, BC Asia Investments III and Integral Investments South Asia IV, sold 33.38 million shares (1.08 per cent stake) at Rs 1,119.7 apiece.

More than 50 entities, largely comprising foreign funds, were among the buyers, including Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS. Bain had bought a stake worth Rs 6,854 crore in Axis Bank in November 2017.

In its regulatory filing, the bank said that Kotecha was appointed to the board with effect from December 19, 2021, up to the expiry of three years, up to December 18, 2024, or till the time BC Asia Investments VII Limited, Integral Investments South Asia IV and BC Asia Investments III Limited, the entities affiliated to Bain Capital, are directly holding in the aggregate at least two per cent of the equity share capital of the bank on a fully diluted basis.

Now, after the latest stake sale, Bain's shareholding has fallen below two per cent.

"The board and entire management team acknowledges the invaluable contributions rendered by Ashish Kotecha during his tenure as a non-executive director," the bank said.

On Friday, as of 1:40 pm, Axis Bank's shares were trading 0.45 per cent in the red at Rs 1,115.25 apiece on BSE.