Shares of Yes Bank rose up to 4.50 per cent on Friday after the lender and State Bank of India (SBI) denied reports that the latter was looking to pare its stake in the bank.
The Yes Bank share on Friday settled at Rs 31.37 on the BSE, a gain of 4.46 per cent over its last close. During intra-day trades, the scrip rose to a day’s high of Rs 32.81, marking a rise of 9.26 per cent. On the NSE, the share ended at Rs 31.45, a rise of 4.83 per cent.
On Thursday, the SBI said in a clarification to the bourses that reports of its selling a stake in Yes Bank were incorrect.
“The news appears to be speculative in nature. The bank is not involved in any negotiations with respect to the subject of the news,” Yes Bank had said after the exchanges sought its response to the news.
Earlier reports had said that the country’s largest lender may be selling Yes Bank shares worth Rs 5,000-7,000 crore through a block deal. For the quarter ended December 31, SBI held 751.6 crore shares, or 26.13 per cent, of Yes Bank. As of Friday’s close, these shares are valued at Rs 23,577 crore.
SBI, along with other lenders such as ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank and HDFC, had stepped in to rescue the private sector bank in 2020.
Speculation surrounding SBI’s stake sale on whether it will offload the entire holding or only a part of it has gathered pace after the lock-in period ended in March 2023.
