Kotak Mahindra Bank acquires 100% stake in microlender Sonata Finance for ₹537 crore
Upstox
2 min read • Updated: March 28, 2024, 1:19 PM
Summary
The Reserve Bank of India had given its nod for the acquisition in October last year. As of December 31, 2023, Sonata was operating in 10 states through 549 branches and had an asset under management of approximately ₹2,620 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, one of the country’s leading private lenders, announced on Thursday, March 28, that it has acquired the entire stake in microlender Sonata Finance for a total consideration of ₹537 crore.
“… the bank has today acquired 100% of the issued and paid up capital of Sonata Finance Private Limited, a Non-Banking Finance Company – Micro Finance Institution registered with the RBI for a total consideration of approximately ₹537 crore,” a regulatory filing stated.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given its nod for the acquisition in October last year. As of December 31, 2023, Sonata was operating in 10 states through 549 branches and had an asset under management of approximately ₹2,620 crore, Kotak Mahindra Bank said.
In an exchange filing last year, the private lender had said that the acquisition of Sonata would allow it to deepen its presence in some of the semi-urban and rural pockets of north India.
The shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank were in the green during intraday trading. The scrip was valued at ₹1,790.55 apiece on the NSE at 1 pm, up 0.84% as against the previous day’s close.
In the quarter ended December 2023, the bank had reported an 8% year-on-year (YoY) surge in net profit at ₹3,005 crore. The net interest income – the difference between interest earned and interest paid – jumped 16% YoY to ₹6,553 crore.