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ING Group To Sell Remaining $1-Billion Stake In Kotak Mahindra Bank

ING Group held 3.7 percent in the private lender as of September, according to an exchange filing.

Customers enter a Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. branch. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Customers enter a Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. branch. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

ING Group plans to sell its remaining stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank worth about $1 billion, two people privy to the development told BloombergQuint on the condition of anonymity.

ING Group held 3.7 percent in the private lender as of September, according to an exchange filing. Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 3.73 percent on Wednesday to close at Rs 1,129.9 apiece.

ING Group plans to sell shares via block deals, the people cited earlier said. The proceeds are expected to be used to augment its capital adequacy requirements back home, one of the people said.

The group has approached institutional investors for gauging interest, another person said requesting anonymity as the talks are private.

When contacted, the Dutch group said it's not its policy to comment on market rumours or speculation.

ING Group has been one of the large public shareholders in Kotak Mahindra Bank after merging its Indian banking unit, ING Vysya Bank, with the lender in November 2014. It held 6.5 percent stake in the merged entity and has since offloaded shares. In 2016, the Dutch group sold nearly 2.5 percent to Kotak Mahindra Bank.