YES Bank IPO likely by mid-May

YES Bank is likely to hit market in the second week of May with its initial public offer (IPO) of seven crore shares to raise up to Rs 300 crore.

"If everything goes well, YES Bank IPO will open by May 9," Rana Kapoor, CEO of YES Bank, said today.

The bank has already filed a red herring prospectus with Sebi for its offer through the book building process, he added.

Though the bank is yet to announce a price band for the offer, market sources said it could be in the range of Rs 30-42 per share.

The bank has appointed DSP Merrill Lynch and Enam as the lead managers for the IPO.

The stake of two promoters - Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapur- will come down from 52% to about 40% after the IPO.

Rabo Bank of the Netherlands has expressed its intention to retain 20%stake it currently has in the bank.

While priviate equity investor CVC's holding will come down to 7.4% from 10%, the other two investors - AIF Capital and Chrys Capital - will hold 6% each as against the present 7.5%.

YES Bank is also planning to raise about Rs 100 crore as Tier-II capital by September, Kapoor said.

The bank, which currrently has 4 branches, has received licence from RBI to open 16 branches by September. It has also set a target to have 30 branches by March 2006.