JSA advised Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in acquiring 20% stake in YES Bank Limited. The transaction will result in SMBC becoming the Bank’s largest shareholder. SMBC will acquire the 20% stake in YES Bank through a secondary purchase of 13.19% from SBI and 6.81% from other shareholders including Axis Bank Limited, Bandhan Bank Limited, Federal Bank Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, IDFC First Bank Limited and Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. SBI and the other selling shareholders had invested in the Bank as part of the YES Bank Reconstruction Scheme in March 2020.
This transaction is the largest cross-border investment in the Indian banking sector. The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory and statutory approvals including from the Reserve Bank of India and Competition Commission of India and will be subject to customary closing conditions.
SMBC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. SMFG is the second largest banking group in Japan with Total Assets of ~US$2tn as of December 2024 with strong global presence. SMFG is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Premier Market of the Nagoya Stock Exchange and SMFG’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are also listed on the New York Stock Exchange. SMFG is rated A1 / A- (Stable) by Moody’s and S&P respectively (long-term outlook).
SMBC is among the leading foreign banks in India and SMFG’s wholly owned subsidiary, SMFG India Credit Company Limited, is among the largest diversified NBFCs in India.
The transaction is a significant milestone to drive YES Bank’s next phase of growth, profitability and value creation and we expect to leverage SMBC’s global expertise in this phase.
The JSA Team was led by Lead Partner Vikram Raghani along with Partner Birbahadur Sachar, Principal Associate Vwastav Ghosh, Senior Associates Vaishnavi Vyas and Aleesha Jadhav & Associates Tavishi Chandra, Samika Pachouly, Pranjal Shorey, and Niki Shah.
The banking and finance team comprised Partner Anish Mashruwala along with Partners Pratish Kumar and Sumitava Basu, Principal Associate Karan Abhichandani, and Associate Anmol Narang.
Our competition team was led by Partner and Chair of Competition Law, Nisha Kaur Uberoi, Partner along with Partner Harshita Singh Parmar, Principal Associate, Shambhvi Sinha, & Associates Akanksha Mathur, Keerthana Kesavan, Aditya Prakash, K Ashmeka and Meghaa G.
Anish is the current Co-Chair of the Finance Practice at JSA and heads the Banking & Finance group. He also focuses on Cross Border Investments & Acquisitions.