TVS Capital joins the list of investors in Ratnakar Bank

Chennai-headquartered TVS Shriram Growth Fund, a private equity fund managed by TVS Capital, has picked up stake in Kolhapur-based Ratnakar Bank as part of the PE consortium that has invested in the regional bank, a senior official at the investment management firm told VCCircle.

As disclosed in media reports, the mid-market regional bank recently raised Rs 720 crore from India's largest mortgage lender HDFC Ltd and a consortium of private equity investors including Norwest Venture Partners, Beacon India Private Equity Fund, Cartica Capital, Faering Capital, Gaja Capital Partners and Samara Capital, among others.

Explaining the rationale behind the investment, Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman & Managing Director, TVS Capital, told VCCircle that the mid-sized bank's regional orientation, a strong management team and a thrust on expanding the "emerging India" sectors make it an interesting investment destination. While the size of investment was not disclosed, it is learnt that TVS Capital has picked up 2.5% in the stake sale.

Established in 1943, Ratnakar Bank is a scheduled commercial bank with a network of 98 licensed branches spread across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka & Goa. It has assets exceeding Rs 2,086 crore and deposits of Rs 1585 crore as of March 2010. According to Care Ratings, the bank had a total income of Rs 157.39 crore with a net profit of Rs 19.4 crore during FY10. The bank