Middle East banking powerhouse Emirates NBD has held advanced discussions to potentially pick up a majority stake in listed domestic private sector lender RBL Bank, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.
"Both parties have been in talks for the past few months and Emirates NBD is keen on picking up more than 51 per cent stake in RBL Bank. They feel it's a good asset and are pursuing the deal for commercial reasons," said one of the persons above.
This person warned that the terms of the potential deal have not been finalized as yet and the ongoing talks may or may not necessarily fructify into an eventual transaction.
Interestingly, public shareholders own 100 per cent of RBL Bank, which does not have any entity in the promoter category.
At the end of day's trade on October 13, the market cap of the lender stood at Rs 17.786.79 crore ($2.01 bn). At these levels, a 51 per cent stake in the firm would be worth around Rs 9,071 crore ($1.02 bn)
According to a second person, "Work is going on and the preferential issue route is likely to be used for this proposed transaction. Emirates NBD is bullish on the India market."
Two other persons confirmed the above discussions and one of them added, "If discussions proceed smoothly and terms are finalized, the proposed deal will trigger an open offer. It will be subject to the approval of the banking regulator RBI."
All the four persons spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
In response to an email query from Moneycontrol, an Emirates NBD official spokesperson said, "Please note that, as a matter of company policy, Emirates NBD declines to comment."
Multiple emails followed by reminders and text messages have been sent to RBL Bank and its representatives, but they were left unanswered at the time of publishing this article. This article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firm.
According to a recent disclosure, a meeting of the Board of Directors of RBL Bank is scheduled to be held on October 18, 2025 to, "inter-alia consider and approve the unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results of the Bank for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2025, subject to a limited review by the Joint Statutory Auditors of the Bank."
Earlier media reports had indicated that Emirates NBD was eyeing a minority stake in RBL Bank.
Incidentally, Emirates NBD has also been linked earlier with the divestment process of state-owned IDBI Bank. It is immediately unclear if the Gulf major can pursue both Indian assets.
On September 8, Moneycontrol reported that four suitors were in the race for the government asset, namely, Canada's Fairfax ( which already owns listed private lender CSB Bank), Emirates NBD, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Oaktree Capital.
The government is confident of concluding the IDBI Bank stake sale prior to the end of the current financial year, Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju said on the sidelines of the recent Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, as per reports.
M&A at RBL Bank?
As per exchange data, the public shareholding in RBL Bank is mainly held by a clutch of several mutual funds (including Quant Mutual Fund which holds 6.64 per cent stake), insurance firms and VC funds.
Additionally, Mahindra & Mahindra, LIC, private equity firm Gaja Capital and Zerodha Broking hold 3.47 per cent , 1.27 per cent, 1.32 per cent and 1.24 per cent stake respectively.
For FY24-25, the firm posted revenues and net profit of Rs 14,039 crore and Rs 695 crore respectively. R Subramaniakumar who earlier led Indian Overseas Bank is the MD & CEO of RBL Bank.
As per its website, the bank offers specialized services under five business verticals namely: Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking, Branch & Business Banking, Retail Assets and Treasury & Financial Markets Operations. It currently services over 15.17 million customers through a network of 562 branches; 1,474 business correspondent branches (of which 297 banking outlets) and 415 ATMs spread across 28 Indian states and Union Territories.
Emirates NBD: The India angle
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 19 granted in-principle approval to Emirates NBD Bank PJSC for setting up a Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) in India.
The in-principle approval has been granted to the bank for setting up a WOS through conversion of its existing branches in India, RBI added.
Currently, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC is carrying on banking business in India in branch mode through its branches located in Chennai, Gurugram and Mumbai.
Back on January 9, 2023, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Emirates NBD and Fairfax Group had submitted expressions of interest in the divestment process of IDBI Bank.
A closer look at Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD, the leading Banking Group in the MENAT region, was formed on 19 June 1963, as the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), the first national bank established in Dubai and the UAE. According to the company website, NBD merged with Emirates Bank International (EBI) on 06 March 2007, to form Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the region by assets.
The merger between EBI and NBD to create Emirates NBD became a regional consolidation blueprint for the banking and finance sector as it combined the second and fourth largest banks in the UAE which provided services across Corporate, Retail, Islamic, Investment, and Private Banking, Global Markets & Treasury, Asset Management and Brokerage operations throughout the region.
The banking major has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia.
According to its website, it employs more than 30,000 people, representing more than 90 nationalities, making it one of the largest and most culturally diversified employers in the UAE.
The firm has a significant retail banking franchise in the UAE and is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 94 percent of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches, its website added.
FAQS
Does Emirates NBD have a digital arm?
Yes, It also operates Liv., the lifestyle digital bank for millennials.
Is the firm listed?
On 16 October 2007, the shares of Emirates NBD were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
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