Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor is in talks with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma to sell his stake at the bank. In August Kapoor had offered to sell his stake in Yes Bank to Sharma. According to reports, he also offered the stakes of his family members for up to Rs 2,000 crore.
According to a report in Times of India, the talks are at an exploratory stage and the two parties still have to discuss the structure of the deal. Moreover, the RBI will also have to give its nod to the deal. The daily mentioned that multiple contours of the deal are discussed including, capital infusion.
Kapoor, his family members and the investment firms they control own a 9.54 per cent stake in Yes Bank. At current valuation, Kapoor and his family's shareholding is worth Rs 1,550 crore.
On September 9, Yes Bank's shares closed at 4.5 per cent higher at Rs 63.10 on the NSE.
Kapoor's family owns stakes in Yes Bank through firms Yes Capital and Morgan Credits.
According to the report, Sharma is evaluating the pros and cons of the deal. Regulatory challenges, including ownership shareholding are some of the factors that Sharma will have to evaluate.
In 2015, Rana Kapoor lost a legal battle to sister-in-law Madhu Kapoor over a board appointment. He was eventually ousted as the CEO and MD of Yes Bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that cited lapses in governance and poor compliance culture.
Rana and Madhu Kapoor and their families jointly own 17.97 per cent stake in Yes Bank of which 9.64 per cent is of Rana Kapoor and family and 8.33 per cent is of Madhu Kapoor and her family.
If this deal follows through then it will be the first time a fintech company or its promoter will buy a sizeable stake in a commercial bank.
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Also read: YES Bank share price falls 2% after Morgan Stanley cuts price target