Kotak denies talks with Buffett, shares trim gains

Kotak Bank shares closed at Rs 1,282.25 per share on BSE, up 8.53% from its previous close, while the benchmark Sensex rose 1.02% to 35,973.25 points. Earlier in the day, Kotak Bank shares posted their sharpest surge in nearly nine years on Friday following a media report that billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is planning to pick up a 10 percent stake in the bank.

“We confirm that we have nothing to report to the exchanges on the said item. Kotak Mahindra is unaware of any plans by Berkshire Hathaway buying stake in the bank as stated in the story”, the bank said in a BSE filing.

Uday Kotak, the billionaire head of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has been asked by the country’s central bank to lower his holding in the bank to 20 percent by the end of this year, and to 15 percent by March 31, 2020. In August, the Reserve Bank of India said the CEO’s plan to reduce his stake by issuing non-convertible perpetual non-cumulative preference shares does not meet their promoter holding dilution requirement.