India clears Emirates NBD to buy majority stake in RBL Bank

India’s competition regulator has given the green light to Emirates NBD’s proposed acquisition of a majority stake in RBL Bank.

Dubai’s largest bank by assets agreed in October to take a 60 percent stake in the Indian private lender for $3 billion through a preferential issue.

NBD announced in December the launch of an open offer to purchase nearly 416 million shares, representing a 26 percent stake, from RBL Bank’s public shareholders. However, the Dubai-listed bank must ensure its shareholding does not exceed the 74 percent foreign investment limit, the Competition Commission of India said in a statement.

This month the Economic Times reported that RBL managing director and CEO R Subramaniakumar expected visibility on NBD’s capital infusion by the first quarter of the fiscal year 2027.

He said NBD will support RBL Bank’s next phase of growth by expanding its branch network.

Emirates NBD is 56 percent held by the Dubai government-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Holding Group.

The bank has operations in the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Germany and Bahrain and has 826 branches.

NBD shares, which trade on the Dubai Financial Market, closed flat at AED30.15 on Tuesday but are up 8 percent in the year to date.

Further reading:

• Emirates NBD buys 60% stake in India’s RBL Bank
• Emirates NBD in ‘advanced talks’ for stake in India’s RBL Bank
• Emirates NBD’s open offer for RBL Bank to be in December