HDFC Bank raises Rs 9,880 crore via share sale

HDFC Bank, the country's largest lender by market value, has raised Rs 9,880 crore in the largest share sale in the secondary market by a private entity through a mix of qualified institutional placement and American depository shares.

Merchant bankers, who include Barclays, JM Financial, Citi, JP Morgan and BofA-ML among others, said the issue has been successfully closed and the final pricing is expected shortly.

According to the bankers, HDFC Bank opened the QIP issue first and the ADR was launched a few hours later.

Last month, the government had allowed increasing foreign holding in HDFC Bank. The application was pending for over a year. The Reserve Bank had in December 2013 prevented FIIs from holding more HDFC Bank stocks after their combined stake crossed 49 per cent.

Mumbai-based HDFC Bank had opened the sale process without a roadshow late on Thursday.

This is the largest share sale by a private sector entity and the second-largest fund raising through selling shares in the secondary market after the bumper Rs 22,500 crore Coal India issue last week by the government.

The bank has plans to raise Rs 2,400 crore from QIP and the rest from ADRs, but sources said the composition changed after the sale began.

Parent HDFC holds 22.47 per cent in the bank, FIIs 33.75 per cent, ADRs/GDRs 16.84 per cent and the rest is held by others, as of the September quarter.

With over Rs 2.6 trillion market capitalisation, HDFC Bank trumps all other lenders in the country including SBI and ICICI.

Shares of HDFC Bank were trading 1.24 per cent higher at Rs 1,080.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 13.16 pm.