JSA, AZB act on Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp acquiring 20% stake in YES Bank for ~₹13,400 crore

Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has agreed to acquire a 20% stake in India's Yes Bank for ~₹13,400 crore. This transaction represents the largest cross-border investment in India's banking sector to date.

JSA Advocates & Solicitors advised SMBC on this stake acquisition.

The transaction team was led by Partner Vikram Raghani along with Partner Birbahadur Sachar, Principal Associate Vwastav Ghosh, Senior Associates Vaishnavi Vyas and Aleesha Jadhav & Associates Tavishi Chandra, Samika Pachouly, Pranjal Shorey, and Niki Shah.

The banking and finance team comprised Partner Anish Mashruwala along with Partners Pratish Kumar and Sumitava Basu, Principal Associate Karan Abichandani, and Associate Anmol Narang.

The competition team was led by Partner and Chair of Competition Law, Nisha Kaur Uberoi, along with Partner Harshita Singh Parmar, Principal Associate, Shambhvi Sinha, & Associates Akanksha Mathur, Keerthana Kesavan, Aditya Prakash, K Ashmeka and Meghaa G.

AZB & Partners acted for YES Bank on this transaction.

The transaction team consisted of Senior Partner Vaidhyanadhan Iyer, Partners Abhilash Chandran and Bhargavy Ramesh, Senior Associate Priyasha Goyal, Associates Manhar Chaudhary and Pavit Kaur. They were supported by the following:

Regulatory aspects: Senior Partner Gautam Ganjawala

Due diligence: Senior Associate Rhea Ghanshani, Associates Sanghamitra Sengupta, Prithviraj Khanna and Rishav Sen

Employment diligence: Partner Ajay Singh Solanki and Associate Shloka Jain

Real estate diligence: Partner Malini Raju and Senior Associate Prannathi Ajith Kumar

Litigation: Partner Vivek Shetty, Senior Associate Dhaval Vora, Associates Devanshi Jhaveri and Naman Nayyar

SMBC will purchase a 13.19% stake from the State Bank of India (SBI) and a combined 6.81% from seven other Indian banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and Bandhan Bank. Post-transaction, SMBC will become the largest shareholder in Yes Bank, with SBI retaining a minority stake.

The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory and statutory approvals, including from the Reserve Bank of India and the Competition Commission of India, and will be subject to customary closing conditions.

SMBC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. SMFG is the second largest banking group in Japan with Total Assets of ~US$2tn as of December 2024 with strong global presence. SMBC is among the leading foreign banks.

The transaction is a significant milestone to drive YES Bank’s next phase of growth, profitability and value creation and we expect to leverage SMBC’s global expertise in this phase. It is a significant step in YES Bank's recovery journey following its financial crisis in 2020.

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