Private equity firm Bain Capital sells Rs 3,737 cr stake in Axis Bank

Private equity firm Bain Capital on Wednesday sold shares worth Rs3,737 crore in private sector lender Axis Bank. Three affiliate firms BC Asia Investments VII, BC Asia Investments III and Integral Investments South Asia IV sold a total of 33.38 million shares (1.08 per cent stake) at Rs1,119.7 apiece, data showed. 

More than 50 entities, largely comprising foreign funds, were among the buyers, including Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS. 

 

The shares of Axis Bank fell 1.4 per cent to close at Rs1,115 on the BSE. According to Reuters, Bain had bought stake worth Rs6,854 crore in Axis Bank in November 2017.

 

It, however, sold shares in several tranches since then. In June, the PE firm sold 0.73 per cent stake for Rs2,178 crore at Rs968 per share.

 

Shares of Axis Bank have gained 18 per cent so far this calendar year, outperforming the Bank Nifty index which has gained 10 per cent.

 

Last month, Axis Bank conducted an analysts’ meeting, where it reiterated that initiatives to improve deposits were paying off with a ramp-up of wealth clients, corporate salary accounts and rise in share of lendable/ retail deposits. It told analysts that it sees limited impact from RBI’s cautious stance on unsecured/ NBFC loans and sees no immediate need to raise capital. Asset quality is stable and return on equity of 18 per cent can be sustained, the management told analysts.