Kotak Mahindra Bank gets RBI approval to acquire MFI Sonata Finance

Private-sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank on Friday said it received Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) approval to acquire 100 per cent stake in micro-lender Sonata Finance.

Sonata will become a business correspondent subsidiary of the bank.

“Upon completion of the transaction (subsequent to receipt of other requisite approvals), Sonata will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank,” Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a notification to the exchanges.

In February, the bank had entered into share-purchase agreements with the shareholders of Sonata Finance, which is a NBFC-MFI, to acquire a 100 per cent stake for ~537 crore, subject to requisite approvals, including that of the RBI.

The shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank closed 1.8 per cent higher at ~1,769.55 on the BSE, while the broader index was down 0.35 per cent. 

(Disclosure: Entities controlled by the Kotak family have a significant holding in Business Standard Pvt Ltd)