Dubai's Emirates NBD eyes majority control in RBL Bank for ₹15,000 cr

Dubai-based Emirates NBD Bank is in advanced talks to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Indian private lender RBL Bank, Mint reported, citing two sources.

The group is expected to buy around 26 per cent from institutional investors and then make an open offer for an additional 25 per cent, the report added. However, if approved, Emirates NBD’s voting rights are likely to be capped at 26 per cent under current Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.

Global investment bank JPMorgan is acting as adviser to Emirates NBD on the transaction, Mint reported.

The proposed deal is valued at ₹15,000 crore, while RBL Bank’s current market capitalisation stands at ₹17,786 crore, The Economic Times reported.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government holds a 56 per cent stake in Emirates NBD. RBL Bank, on the other hand, has no promoter entity, with all of its shares held by public investors, including domestic institutions and mutual funds.

In July, The Economic Times reported that Emirates NBD was looking to acquire a significant minority stake in RBL, which the bank denied at the time. Earlier, the Dubai-based lender was also linked to a potential majority stake in IDBI Bank.

The development comes after the RBI, in May, granted in-principle approval to Emirates NBD Bank to establish a wholly owned subsidiary (WoS) in India. The Dubai-headquartered lender currently operates through three branches in India — located in Chennai, Gurugram, and Mumbai.

Emirates NBD is not the only bank looking to expand its presence in India’s banking sector. The report comes soon after Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) acquired an additional 4.2 per cent stake in Yes Bank, following its recent 20 per cent purchase, taking its total holding to 24.2 per cent, according to The Economic Times.