Rabobank, largest retail bank in the Netherlands, on Thursday, sold a majority of its stake in private lender Yes Bank raising about $87 million.
Rabobank has been gradually paring its stake in Yes Bank since June 2010, as the Dutch lender moves closer to setting up its own banking unit in India. Rabobank, which owned 16.7 million shares or 4.73 per cent stake in Yes Bank as on end-March, sold 12.7 million shares in a series of market transactions, source said.
The shares were sold at about Rs 357 apiece, a discount of about 2.5 per cent from Yes Bank’s closing price on Wednesday. A clutch of Indian financial institutions bought the shares, sources said.
Rabobank, which has a wholly-owned non-banking finance unit in India, plans to focus on agriculture, food, renewable energy and clean technology sectors as part of its banking foray.
Published 26 April 2012, 16:15 IST