Lakshmi Vilas Bank hits 5% upper circuit as lender looks to raise Rs 1,500 crore from Clix Capital

Shares of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) hit an upper circuit of 5 percent in early trade on Tuesday after CNBC-TV18 reported that the lender may be able to raise Rs 1,200- Rs 1,500 crore of investment from AION Capital-backed NBFC Clix Capital, if the proposed transaction goes through. The shares were locked at Rs 16.06, up 5 percent as against Monday's close of Rs 15.30 on the BSE.

The private sector lender on Monday had informed exchanges that it had received a preliminary, non-binding letter of intent (LoI) from Clix Capital Services Private Limited & Clix Finance India Private Limited. The bank said this proposal is subject to completion of due diligence and will be subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

People aware of the matter said told CNBC-TV18 that the bank may receive Rs 1,200- Rs 1,500 crore of investment.

“We are at a very early stage of the deal right now. We have been talking for a while, due diligence has to be completed. It will take at least a quarter or more before we can submit any proposal to the RBI,” said a person directly involved in the transaction on the condition of anonymity. This person indicated that the investment size may be around Rs 1,500 crore or thereabout.

Another person familiar with the transaction said, “Clix is looking at majority control, but ultimately everything will depend on how the deal pans out, and what RBI does or doesn’t allow.”

The deal proposal comes amid the bank’s attempts to raise capital to meet regulatory requirements.

In October last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had turned down Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s proposed merger with Indiabulls Housing Finance.