YES Bank rallies 9% as PE firms eye stake

NEW DELHI: Shares of YES Bank climbed 9 per cent in Monday’s trade amid reports that global private equity firms — TPG, The Carlyle Group and Farallon Capital — are seeking to buy large strategic stakes in the private lender.

The talks have advanced substantially in the past few days and they could result in one or more private equity firms taking a significant stake in the bank, providing the growth capital the lender needs to compete at the top-tier of Indian banking, ET reported.

Tracking the development, the scrip climbed 9.01 per cent to hit a high of Rs 45.95 on BSE. Yes Bank, the private sector lender where all pledged shares have now been sold and business fundamentals present a compelling value proposition at current market price, ET reported.


“These three private-equity funds are in constant touch with the bank and look very keen on a stake. But there is a lot of work to be done,” said a banker with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the bank has lodged a complaint with Mumbai police and cyber cell against the dissemination of fake news and spread of rumors about the bank's financial health on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

The bank has requested the authorities to form a multi-disciplinary team of experts for detecting the origin of the fake news and assess the short-sell positions, held either directly or indirectly by such accused persons.