YES Bank rallies 15% as lender denies stake sale report

NEW DELHI: Shares of YES Bank climbed 15 per cent in Wednesday’s trade after the private lender denied a Reuters report that suggested the bank was close to securing a deal to sell a minority stake to a global technology company.

In a reply to BSE, the lender said the news report was speculative.

The stock jumped 15 per cent to hit a high of Rs 72.55 on BSE.

There were speculations that YES Bank founder and former chief executive Rana Kapoor may sell his 9.64 per cent stake in the bank as he seeks to cut personal debt and facilitate a fresh round of fund raising by the bank to improve its capital position.

Reports suggested that Kapoor was in talks with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma which may be at a personal level, and which Kapoor neither confirmed nor denied.

“As you understand —this is extremely market sensitive,” Kapoor told ET in a WhatsApp message when reached for a comment. The stock market was shut on Tuesday on account of Muharram.

The shares of the lender closed 13.47 per cent higher at Rs 71.60 on BSE.