Mahindra eyes 9.9% stake in RBL Bank
MUMBAI : Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Ltd has evinced interest in acquiring as much as a 9.9% stake in private bank RBL Bank Ltd, after picking up a 3.53% stake in the latter a week ago. “We may consider further investment subject to pricing, regulatory approvals, and required procedures. However, in no circumstance will it exceed 9.9%," said the Mahindra group in a regulatory filing on Wednesday evening while commenting on the stake acquisition in RBL Bank, which has recently expressed its new strategy to shift from bulk to granular deposits model to expand the bank’s margins beyond 5%.
Mumbai-based Mahindra group, which has long been attempting to enter the country ’s banking space, on Tuesday, said the group has acquired a 3.53% stake in RBL Bank as an investment at a cost of ₹417 crore. Mahindra’s move took investors by surprise. A senior investment banker affiliated with a foreign bank termed the transaction a bold move.
M&M, possibly, is betting on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) easing the rules on industrial houses owning banks. For now, the group is staying within RBI stipulated limits, according to a person close to the development. On 5 April 2021, Anish Shah, the chief executive and managing director of M&M, in an interview with The Economic Times, said the conglomerate could apply for a banking licence.
Before that, the group sought to secure a banking licence in 2013. On Tuesday, a market buzz on Mahindra’s indirect entry into the banking space through RBL Bank stake purchase propelled the lender’s stock by 7.13% to ₹238.80 on BSE. “The bank wishes to state that the holding of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd as per the last beneficiary position as on 21 July 2023 as received from the depository (NSDL) is 3.53% of
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