By Baiju Kalesh and Suvashree Ghosh
Hinduja Group Ltd. is partnering with private equity firm
Cerberus Capital Management LP in seeking to pick up a stake in embattled
Yes Bank Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
Representatives of Cerberus and the UK-based Hinduja group, run by brothers
Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, met
Reserve Bank of India officials earlier this month regarding the bid, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private.
The beleaguered Indian lender has been struggling to raise capital for the past few months, amid concerns about the quality of its assets and its exposure to the stressed shadow banking sector. Firms including JC Flowers & Co., Tilden Park Capital Management,
Oak Hill Advisors and
Silver Point Capital have submitted non-binding expressions of interest, Yes Bank said in a stock exchange filing in Mumbai on Feb. 12.
A spokesman for Hinduja Group declined to comment while spokespeople for Cerberus, the RBI and Yes Bank didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
More investors may join the consortium, the people said. The deliberations are ongoing and the consortium could decide against a bid too, according to the people.