Axis Bank Picks Banks for $1.3 Billion Share Sale
A deal would help Axis Bank, led by CEO Amitabh Chaudhry, bolster loans and boost overall capital buffer.
(Bloomberg) -- Axis Bank Ltd. has picked banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to arrange a planned share sale of at least $1.3 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The bank has also selected Credit Suisse Group AG, BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc., UBS Group AG and Axis Capital Ltd. for the proposed offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Board of India’s third-largest lender will meet on July 20 to consider a proposal to raise funds by the sale of shares, depository receipts or any other instruments representing either shares or convertible securities linked to equity, it said in an exchange filing late Wednesday evening.
A deal would help the lender led by Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry bolster loans and boost overall capital buffer, the lowest among its private-sector peers as of March 31. The sale could take place later this year and the bank can add more arrangers later, the people said.
The deal could raise as much as $2 billion, one of the people said. A spokeswoman for Axis Bank didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and email. Representatives for JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and HSBC declined to comment, while spokesmen at BNP Paribas, Citigroup, UBS and Axis Capital didn’t immediately respond.
Shares of Axis Bank fell 0.1% on Thursday in Mumbai. The bank is still the best-performing stock on the 10-member Bankex index in 2019 with gains of 24%.
To contact the reporters on this story: Anto Antony in Mumbai at aantony1@bloomberg.net;Baiju Kalesh in Mumbai at bkalesh@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Anto Antony
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