(Reuters) -India’s Mahindra & Mahindra sold its entire 3.5% stake in RBL Bank for 6.78 billion rupees ($77.1 million), the automaker said on Thursday, marking a 62.5% return on its 2023 investment.
At the time of the acquisition, CEO Anish Shah said the move was aimed at gaining deeper insights into the banking sector over a seven- to 10-year period and would be maintained unless a strategic opportunity emerged.
Analysts had questioned the rationale behind the investment, given Mahindra’s core focus on automobiles. The company later said it had no intention to increase its holding in the lender.
Shares of the automaker rose 1.5% in early trade on Thursday, while RBL inched 1% higher.
The exit comes weeks after Dubai’s Emirates NBD announced plans to acquire a 60% stake in RBL Bank for $3 billion, in what would be the largest cross-border deal in India’s financial sector.
($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sonia Cheema)
