Jio Financial buys out SBI’s stake in payments bank JV

Industry:    4 days ago

Jio Payments Bank, a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and the State Bank of India (SBI), is set to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mukesh Ambani-promoted financial services company.

On Tuesday, the boards of Jio Financial and SBI approved a deal involving SBI divesting its entire stake in Jio Payments Bank, both companies informed the exchange in separate filings. SBI is likely to have sold 17.8%, or 79 million shares, in the payments bank for ₹104.54 crore. SBI said it is selling its stake in Jio Payments Bank at ₹13.22 apiece.

Following this transaction, Jio Financial, which owns an 82.17% stake in the payments bank, will make the target a wholly-owned subsidiary, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Shares of Jio Financial jumped on the announcement. It closed Tuesday nearly 3% higher at ₹206.25 on the National Stock Exchange.

The acquisition is subject to the Reserve Bank of India’s approval and is expected to be completed within 45 days of it coming through.

Jio Payments Bank is among the six such banks operating in India. In 2018, Reliance Industries and SBI started payments bank operations in a 70:30 joint venture. Over the years, Reliance raised its stake in the payments bank. In October 2022, Reliance announced the demerger of its financial services business into Reliance Strategic Investments as part of its group restructuring. The spun-off entity was renamed Jio Financial Services, and was listed in August 2023.
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