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Uday Kotak sells $261 million stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank on RBI order
The RBI asked Kotak to lower his holding in the bank to 30% by end-June, 20% by end-December next year, and to 15% by March 31, 2020.
Uday Kotak, the billionaire head of India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, sold a less than 1% stake in the lender in stock market transactions on Monday, complying with a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) order to cut his holding.
The RBI asked Kotak to lower his holding in the bank to 30% by end-June, 20% by end-December next year, and to 15% by March 31, 2020.
On Monday, Kotak sold 18 million shares in the lender for 16.87 billion rupees ($261 million), lowering his ownership of the bank to 29.79%, according to a regulatory filing.
In March, Kotak sold an about 1.5% stake in the bank to Canada’s two largest pension funds - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ).
Earlier this month, the bank raised about $900 million by selling new shares to funds, diluting Kotak’s holding further.
Ahead of the deal on Monday, Kotak owned 30.74% of the lender.
Shares in Kotak Mahindra Bank, which has the third-highest market capitalisation among India’s banks, closed 0.4% higher at 941.25 rupees on Monday.
