IOB acquires Bharat Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank buy out stakes of four banks, which together held 49.33% in BhoB, at Rs 155 per share.

Indian Overseas Bank has acquired Bharat Overseas Bank by buying out other shareholders of BhOB.

HT Image

Four banks -- Bank of Rajasthan (16 per cent), ING Vysya Bank (14.66 per cent), South Indian Bank (10 per cent) and Karnataka Bank (8.67 per cent) -- have sold their stakes aggregating 49.33 per cent in BhOB to IOB at a price of Rs 155 per share.

IOB, which was the single largest shareholder in BhOB, had proposed in February to acquire BhOB by increasing its stake from 30 per cent to 100 per cent and had offered an exit price of Rs 155 to the other shareholders.

Two other shareholders in BhOB -- Federal Bank (10.67 per cent) and Karur Vysya Bank (10 per cent) -- are also understood to have sold their stakes to IOB.

Earlier, Bank of Rajasthan, ING Vysya Bank, SIB, and Karnataka Bank informed the bousres that they have sold 25,19,999 shares, 23,09,999 shares, 15,74,999 shares and 13,64,999 shares respectively to IOB at a price of Rs 155 per share aggregating Rs 120.43 crore.

However, the banks have retained one share each of BhOB as symbolic shareholding.

BhOB's profitability was under pressure from 2004, so its merger with a bigger bank was a preferred o