Bandhan Bank news today: Abu Dhabi's IHC, First Abu Dhabi Bank in early talks for promoter stake; shares jump 8%

Short answer: the Bandhan Bank news today is a report, not an announcement. The Economic Times reported on Tuesday morning that Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC), the investment firm of Abu Dhabi's national security adviser and deputy ruler Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and First Abu Dhabi Bank are in early-stage talks to buy into Bandhan Financial Services (BFSL), the company that owns a little over a third of Bandhan Bank. The stock jumped as much as 8.65% to ₹170.40 in early trade (NDTV Profit).

Who owns Bandhan's promoter today

BFSL, led by Bandhan founder Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, is working with Jefferies to find strategic investors for 25–32% of the company. The main reason is to give long-time financial investors a way out (ET).

Shareholding as reported by The Economic Times (GIC and IFC figure as of end-March). GIC and IFC have backed BFSL for more than a decade, and their stake alone could be worth $500–600 million, people cited by ET said. If other shareholders also sell, the deal could be much bigger.

Besides the bank, BFSL controls Bandhan AMC (59.98%), Bandhan Life Insurance (97.16%) and an IT company, Bandhan Technologies, which recently opened an office in Abu Dhabi (ET).

Why the promoter has to sell down anyway

Bandhan Financial Holdings, BFSL's holding company for the bank, owned 37.5% of Bandhan Bank at the end of June. Under the bank's licensing agreement with the Reserve Bank of India, it must bring that down to 26% by 2030 (ET). A strategic investor at the promoter level is one of the ways such shareholding changes play out, but the reported talks are about BFSL's own shareholders, not about the bank selling new shares.

The Gulf money trail

This is the latest in a run of West Asian investments in Indian lenders. ET points out that Emirates NBD completed its $2.75 billion investment in RBL Bank in June after regulatory approvals, and IHC has committed $1 billion for a controlling stake in Sammaan Capital. Qatar Investment Authority and buyout funds such as Carlyle and EQT have also been sounded out for BFSL, the report said.

None of the parties confirmed anything. Ghosh told ET, "We don't comment on market speculation." A First Abu Dhabi Bank spokesperson said it does not comment on "individual client relationships, transactions, or market speculation". IHC did not respond to ET.

Where the bank stands

Started as a microfinance lender in 2001, Bandhan became a full bank in August 2015. As of 30 June it had a loan book of ₹1.56 lakh crore, deposits of ₹1.65 lakh crore, a capital adequacy ratio of 18.2%, 1,988 branches and 31.8 million customers. Its microfinance book was about ₹35,000 crore (ET).

The stock had a rough July: the bank cut its FY27 return-on-assets guidance with its June-quarter results and the shares fell 15% intraday to ₹177.50, the sharpest one-day drop since March 2020. It closed Monday at ₹157, up 13.32% for the year, for a market value of about ₹25,351 crore (ET).

For customers: nothing in the report changes your savings account, FD, loan or card. If you were searching for the customer care number, the official toll-free line on Bandhan Bank's website is 1800-258-8181.

This is news, not investment advice. Check exchange filings on NSE and BSE before acting on reports of stake sales.