Axis Bank hires i-banks for ₹12k crore share sale

Axis Bank Ltd has hired investment banks UBS, Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas and its in-house unit Axis Capital to manage its proposed share sale, which could see the private lender raise as much as ₹12,000 crore, three people aware of the development said.

The proposed share sale is likely to be launched as early as next month, they said, requesting anonymity.

“Capital will be raised through a mix of private equity investors and capital markets investors. It could either be through a mix of preferential allotment to PE funds and a qualified institutional placement (QIP) or it will just be a QIP,” one of the three people said, requesting anonymity.

UBS, Credit Suisse and BNP declined to comment. An email sent to Axis Bank didn’t elicit a response.

On 2 July, Axis Bank said its board has approved a plan to raise as much as ₹15,000 crore through a QIP or sale of American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs). The bank may also tap the preferential allotment route to raise the capital.

Mint reported earlier that private equity investors including Carlyle, KKR and Fidelity are interested in buying Axis Bank shares in the proposed QIP.