Private equity giants Carlyle and Advent International have announced plans to acquire a 10% stake in YES Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks, as part of a $1.1 billion capital raise.
YES Bank is a leader in India’s digital payments space, and the funds raised will be allocated toward the bank’s medium to long-term growth objectives. Managing partner at Advent, Ms. Shweta Jalan, explained that the firm believes India’s banking sector is at a pivotal moment, where tech-enabled banks like YES Bank have a distinct advantage.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to the country’s banking and financial services industry, which is central to India’s growth story. We think the bank’s leadership team, led by Prashant Kumar, has done remarkable work in reviving performance over the last two years,” she stated.
An announcement from Carlyle, published on July 29, indicates that the company aims to leverage its extensive experience in the financial services sector in India and across Asia to support YES Bank in enhancing its retail and transaction banking, as well as its digital payments platforms. Following the transaction, Carlyle will have one nominee on the bank’s Board.
Mr. Sunil Kaul, Managing Director and Financial Services sector lead for Carlyle in Asia, remarked, “We are confident in India’s long-term economic growth prospects and believe that YES Bank is well-positioned to capture this growth, given its strong capabilities in transaction banking and digital payments.
“YES Bank’s leadership team, led by CEO Prashant Kumar and supported by its Board, has successfully navigated challenging times, and the bank is now poised for its next growth phase. We are excited to bring our financial services sector experience to serve as a value-added partner as the bank continues to pursue sustained growth, scale its operations, and invest in its people and leadership team.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.