 "Indiabulls buys 40 pct stake in UK's OakNorth Bank")
OakNorth Bank, a British lender to small businesses and entrepreneurs, said Mumbai-based Indiabulls Group had bought a 40 percent stake in the company for 66 million pounds ($100 million), boosting its capital base to over 85 million pounds.
Indiabulls, which has interests in real estate development, financial services and lending, bought the stake through Indiabulls Housing Finance, India's second-largest private housing finance company.
"This is a massive vote of confidence in OakNorth, and this major investment will enable us to accelerate and expand our ambitious growth plans to take on the major banks' 'computer says no' approach to small business lending," OakNorth Chief Executive and co-founder Rishi Khosla said in a statement.
The announcement coincides with a visit to Britain by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which officials in both countries have said could yield deals worth billions of dollars.
Shares in Indiabulls Housing Finance closed down 10 percent at Rs 643.5 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. The benchmark index fell 1 percent.
($1 = 0.6571 pounds)