Is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Radhakishan Damani Planning to Invest in Yes Bank?

As part of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) proposed recapitalization plans for private lender Yes Bank Ltd, ace stock market investors Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Radhakishan Damani may acquire some stake in the crisis-hit private lender, according to media reports.

According to a report in the Times of India, Jhunjhunwala and DMart founder Damani are among the many private investors who have been tapped for the Yes Bank’s recapitalisation plan. PremjiInvest, one of the largest family offices in the country, has also been sounded by State Bank of India (SBI) to be a part of the plan, another report added.

RBI is looking for maximum number of investors to be a part of the consortium that invests in Yes Bank to ensure that no single entity/individual (other than SBI) holds more than 5% stake in the lender, the report said.

Besides private investors, SBI is also looking to rope in domestic financial institutions like ICICI, HDFC, Kotak and Axis to revive Yes Bank, an Economic Times report said. While the financial services groups are open to participating in Yes Bank’s equity infusion plan, they are yet to give their commitment, the report added. “They will probably decide after Saturday when Yes Bank comes out with the Q4 results. They will get a picture of the quantum of loan write-off, fall in capital adequacy and erosion of existing equity,” a person familiar with the negotiations told Economic Times.

SBI also reportedly met an array of private equity funds and overseas investors like Blackstone, Carlyle, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and Tilden Park among others to offer equity in Yes Bank. However, most of them are not in a position to bring in funds at a short notice, the ET report noted.

RBI has reportedly proposed a revival plan for Yes Bank that will include initial capital infusion and funding lines to prevent a relapse once the 30-day moratorium imposed on 5 March is lifted.