RBL Bank Raises Rs 2,025 Crore From Bajaj Group, Other Investors

RBL Bank Ltd. has raised Rs 2,025 crore from 40 investors, including non-banking lender Bajaj Finance Ltd., to bolster its capital base.

The bank's performance has been under pressure in the past few quarters due to its exposures to a few stressed accounts. The funds were raised through a qualified institutional placement at Rs 351 a share, the bank said in a statement on Friday.

Bajaj Finance Ltd., which has had a partnership with RBL Bank to sell co-branded credit cards, has invested Rs 150 crore to get a 0.87 percent stake, and is among the largest investors in the QIP. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has picked up a 0.65 percent stake.

The RBL Bank QIP involved sale of 5.77 crore shares and the price, which is a discount to the current price, was arrived at using prescribed formula.

The private lender’s overall capital adequacy will move up to 15.3 percent with the core Tier-I buffer at 14.3 percent, as against 12.3 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, in September.

Giving a break-up of the investors, RBL Bank said 10 of the 40 investors are new, and that 60 percent of the money has been raised from domestic mutual funds and insurance companies while the rest from foreign investors from Asia and Europe.

Other investors include Abakkus Growth Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Axis Mutual Fund, BNP Paribas Cap Fund, Edelweiss Alpha Fund and HDFC Trustee Company.

"This capital infusion significantly enhances our capital adequacy, and positions us well to capitalise on the various growth opportunities available to us, especially as economic growth returns to normal," Vishwavir Ahuja, managing director of RBL Bank, said in a statement.

On Friday, RBL Bank shares fell 7.52 percent to Rs 338.00 apiece on the National Stock Exchange while the benchmark Nifty 50 shed 0.81 percent to end the day at 11,921.50 points.