Mint report of Sumitomo getting RBI approval for Yes Bank stake is 'incorrect': Banking Sources

The Mint report from earlier on Tuesday, which stated that Sumitomo has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India, to acquire 51% stake in Yes Bank, is incorrect, Banking sources in the know told CNBC-TV18 exclusively.

The source further added that there is no application pending before the RBI from Sumitomo to acquire stake in Yes Bank.

Shares of Mumbai-based private lender Yes Bank Ltd. had surged as much as 9% on Tuesday, May 6, after Mint had reported that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) has received the approval from the Reserve Bank of India, to acquire 51% stake in the lender.

Citing two people aware of the development, the Mint report stated that the deal may value Yes Bank at $1.7 billion, under which, SMBC will either buy less than 26% stake and do a merger through a share swap, or may be up to 26% stake and trigger an open offer.

As per the March quarter shareholding pattern, SBI had a 24% stake in Yes Bank, followed by lenders like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and LIC.

Vervanta Holdings Ltd. had a 9.2% stake in the lender, while CA Basque Investments had a 6.84% stake.

Yes Bank also has nearly 62 lakh small retail shareholders, or those with authorised share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, who have a 22.55% stake in the lender.

Yes Bank was rescued by a consortium of banks, led by SBI, in 2020 after the RBI had superseded the bank's board. Back then, the lender fell short of liquidity requirements and its founder & CEO Rana Kapoor failed to win the RBI's approval to continue at the helm.

Since Kapoor's exit in 2019, Yes Bank does not have a promoter.

Shares of Yes Bank are off opening highs after the CNBC-TV18 newsbreak, currently trading 3.2% higher at ₹18.29.