A few days after announcing his resignation from Bandhan Bank as Managing Director and CEO with effect from July 9, 2024, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is reportedly exploring various possibilities with his stake in Bandhan Financial Services, including selling part of the stake held by the promoter group.
Bandhan Financial Services is the non-banking core investment company (CIC) which holds the shares of Bandhan Bank through Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited. Financial Inclusion Trust, North East Financial Inclusion Trust and Bandhan Employee’s Welfare Trust collectively hold 55.34 per cent stake in the company, according to Bandhan Financial Services’ FY23 annual report.
These would be the entities through which Ghosh and/or his family members as well as certain employees of the Bandhan Group hold shares in Bandhan Bank. Other shareholders of Bandhan Financial Services include SIDBI, the International Finance Corporation and Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC held through Caladium Investments Pte Limited (see table).
According to highly placed sources familiar with the matter, Ghosh is exploring possibilities of monetizing his stake in Bandhan Financial Services. “It has started preliminary discussions with a few banks to consider buying back its stake in the holding company, but has not yet received encouraging feedback. A few private equity investors have also been approached and negotiations are at an early stage, » two bankers familiar with the matter said. It appears Ghosh is not looking to exit the holding company completely and may continue to hold approximately 10 percent of the company’s capital.
The email sent to Bandhan Bank remained unanswered till the time of publication. However, when contacted over phone, CS Ghosh termed the possibility of a stake sale as speculative. “I would like to occupy a strategic role within the holding company,” he replied.
The Bandhan Group, through Bandhan Financial Holdings, recently expanded its interest into the life insurance sector by acquiring a majority stake in Ageon Life Insurance. Last year, Bandhan Financial Holdings, GIC and ChrysCapital acquired IDFC Mutual Funds for Rs 4,500 crore. On April 5, 2024, Ghosh announced his decision to resign as Managing Director and CEO of Bandhan Bank once his tenure ends on July 9, 2024. In February, activity area said a forensic audit is currently underway at the bank.