Spandana Sphoorty rejects report on stake sale to YES Bank

Spandana Sphoorty Financial on Thursday rejected reports of its biggest shareholder Kedaara Capital having talks with YES Bank for selling off its stake. The Hyderabad-based company said its board and corporate promoter remain committed to delivering the business plan under Vision 2025, which was approved by the board of directors in July last year.

In a statement to stock exchanges, Spandana said it will continue to comply with all disclosure and other obligations under all laws as and when they become applicable.

About 18 months ago, Kedaara Capital shelved a similar plan following allegations by Spandana founder Padmaja Gangireddy that it was selling off the company to Axis Bank.

"All the material information/announcement that may have bearing on the operations/performance of the company which includes all the necessary disclosures in accordance with regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 have always been disclosed by the company within the stipulated time," Spandana said in a BSE filing.

Spandana's justification has come after Economic Times suggested that private equity investor Kedaara had revived plans to sell off the company, and this time it to YES Bank.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial posted a 268% jump in its consolidated March quarter net profit to ₹105.55 crore. The Hyderabad-based company, specialising in rural loans, said its total income grew to ₹533 crore, up 42%, when compared to the December quarter.

The overall assets under management stood at ₹8,511 crore as of March 31, 2023, against ₹6,581 crore in the year-ago period.

In the Q4 FY2023, the lender showed a sharp improvement, with the gross non-performing assets ratio coming at 2.07% against 18.7% in the year-ago period.

Shares of Spandana declined 4.36% on Thursday afternoon after it rejected reports of M&A deal with YES Bank.