India’s competition regulator said on Tuesday it had approved Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation‘s stake purchase in Indian lender Yes Bank.
SMBC in May had inked a deal to take a 20% stake in Yes Bank for $1.6 billion, making it the largest cross-border merger and acquisition deal in India’s financial sector.
The Japanese lender had agreed to buy a 13.19% stake from State Bank of India and an aggregate 6.81% stake from Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In August, SMBC received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to buy up to a 24.99% stake in Yes Bank.
The Indian central bank also decided that SMBC will not be treated as Yes Bank’s “promoter” – an Indian term for large shareholders – following the deal, Yes Bank had disclosed in an exchange filing.
The deal would have involved additional regulatory requirements if SMBC was considered a promoter.
Reuters
