Nandan Nilekani acquires stake in Dhanlaxmi Bank

NEW DELHI: Nandan Nilekani, Infosys' co-founder and chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI), has acquired over one per cent in private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank.

He took over the reins of UIADI in 2009 and had resigned as the CEO of the country's largest software exporter Infosys in 2007.

According to the information available with Bombay Stock Exchange, Nilekani holds 9,93,827 shares in the bank which translates into 1.17 per cent stake as on March 31, 2011.

Dhanlaxmi Bank is among the banks in the country which does not have any domestic or foreign promoters.

Apart from Nilekani, there are 22 shareholders which hold stakes between 1 and 7 per cent in the Kerala-based bank.

Nilekani and his family, which currently holds 3.44 per cent stake in Infosys, is the second largest promoter in the software firm after the company's mentor N R Narayana Murthy and his family.

Nilekani served as the CEO of the company from 2002 to 2007, when he relinquished his position to his colleague Kris Gopalakrishnan, becoming Co-Chairman. He left Infosys in 2009 to serve as the chairperson of the UIADI, in the rank of a cabinet minister under invitation from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.