Kotak Mahindra Bank stock price surges after reports of Buffett's interest

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank soared nearly 14 per cent intra-day on Friday amid speculation that legendary investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc was planning to pick up a stake in the private sector lender in a multi-billion dollar deal.

While the bank was non-committal on reports in this regard, saying it was not aware of any plans by Berkshire Hathaway to buy the stake, any such deal would help Kotak Mahindra Bank meet the RBI's ownership norms.

According to media reports, Berkshire Hathaway may pick up 10 per cent stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank, which currently commands a market cap of over USD 34 billion, by buying promoter stake or through a preferential allotment, in a deal that could be valued anywhere between USD 4 billion and USD 6 billion.

Replying to clarification sought by the stock exchanges about the media report, Kotak Mahindra Bank said it is "unaware of any plans by Berkshire Hathaway buying stake in the bank".

The stock finally closed 8.53 per cent higher to settle at Rs 1,282.25 on the BSE. During the trading session, the scrip jumped 13.86 per cent to Rs 1,345.35, its highest during the day.

On the NSE, the uptrend followed as the scrip advanced by 8.84 per cent to close at Rs 1,284.55. In intra-day trade, the stock touched a high of Rs 1,345.95 and a low of Rs 1,176.15

As of September, Uday Kotak, vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank held 29.73 per cent stake in the lender. The Reserve Bank has asked promoters of the bank to bring down their stake to 20 per cent by December 2018 and to 15 per cent by March 2020.