MahaBank to float IPO on February 25

Bank of Maharashtra (MahaBank) has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India's approval for its Rs 230 crore initial public offering (IPO).

The offer is of 10 crore shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium of Rs 13 per share. The issue is slated to open on February 25.

The Pune-headquartered public sector bank, which has a network of 1,251 branches across India, is tapping the market to enhance its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and augment its long-term resources for the business growth.

Post-IPO, the Central government's stake in the bank will come down to 76.77 per cent from 100 per cent.

Further, the capital of the bank will increase by Rs 100 crore to Rs 430.52 crore. The bank's net profit at Rs 222.02 crore as of March ended 2003 was 53 per cent higher than Rs 145.41 crore in the previous year's corresponding period.

It's total business crossed the Rs 32,000 crore mark, recording a growth of 15.67 per cent over the previous year.

The bank expects its business to cross Rs 40,000 crore by March 2004.

As of March-end 2003, the bank's deposits stood at Rs 22,175.75 crore as against Rs 19,130.62 crore as of March-end 2002. Investments as of March-end 2003 stood at Rs 11,801.53 crore as against Rs 9,909.18 crore as of March-end 2002. Advances were at Rs 9,508.13 crore (Rs 8,255.12 crore).

The CAR of the bank as on March 31, 2003, stood at 12.05 per cent, higher than the Reserve Bank of India-stipulated minimum level of nine per cent.