The Trissur-based South Indian Bank has completed one round of equity dilution wherein marquee investors like International Finance Corporation, Fidelity Group and UTI Ventures have all picked up stakes. The entire exercise saw the bank raise Rs 326 crore or $81 million. The shares were placed at Rs 163 to the investors.
According to sources, IFC lead the pack with an investment of around Rs 70 crore, Fidelity Group, UTI Ventures and Blue Ridge Group pitched in with around Rs 40 crore each. Besides fund houses like Birla MF, Merill Lynch, Indian Capital opportunities Fund, DE Shaw, Moon Capital and others have also picked up stakes in the Bank.
When contacted, V A Joseph, CMD of South Indian Bank declined to comment stating that necessary documents were yet to filed with regulatory agencies and details could be given only after filing the papers. “It is true that we have raised money, but you will have to wait for details. He also said that the bank needed capital as its capital adequacy ratio was 11% and for further expansion of business it had to dilute equity,” Joseph added.
It is learnt that Edelweiss Capital facilitated the transanction for South Indian Bank. “In all two crore
equity shares (Rs 10 paid up) were placed at Rs 163 a share to raise Rs 326 crore,” sources said.
Source: Times of India