SBI completes ₹8,889 crore stake sale in Yes Bank to Japan's SMBC

Earlier this year, SMBC had agreed to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Yes Bank, making it one of the largest foreign investments in the Indian banking sector

The State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday said it has completed the sale of a 13.18 per cent stake in Yes Bank Limited to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan in a deal amounting to ₹8,889 crore.

 

The deal includes the transfer of 4.13 billion equity shares of Yes Bank at ₹21.50 per share. It follows regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on August 22 and from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on September 2, SBI said.

 

It added that the divestment was approved earlier this year by SBI’s Executive Committee of the Central Board (ECCB) at its meeting held on May 9. It brings down SBI’s shareholding in Yes Bank to about 10.8 per cent.

 

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SMBC's entry to Indian banking sector

 

Earlier this year, SMBC had agreed to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Yes Bank for ₹13,483 crore, making it one of the largest foreign investments in the Indian banking sector.

 

Of the total, over 13 per cent stake was from SBI, with the remaining 7 per cent coming from a consortium of Indian lenders including Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. These banks had picked up stakes in Yes Bank in 2020 at about ₹10 per share, as part of its government-led reconstruction plan.

 

The Japanese lender has approval from the RBI to raise its stake in the private bank to as much as 24.99 per cent. According to the Economic Times, it may look to acquire the remaining 4.99 per cent either from private equity investors Advent and Carlyle or through a preferential share issue by the bank.

 

SBI shares were up nearly 3 per cent at ₹856.5 apiece on the BSE at 2:55 pm following the announcement. Yes Bank shares were trading marginally higher at ₹21.02, up 0.1 per cent at the same time.