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Bloomberg
Hinduja Group India Ltd., owned by the billionaire Hinduja brothers, is considering buying a majority stake in state-owned MauBank Ltd. of Mauritius, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Selling control of MauBank would enable the Mauritian government to recoup some of the money its used to bail out the lender. The state has spent
$182 million since 2015, when it created National Commercial Bank to acquire some of the assets of collapsed lender Bramer Bank Corp., and then merged it with loss-making Mauritius Post Cooperative Bank to create MauBank.
Representatives of Hinduja completed due diligence on MauBank and the Mauritian lender is now awaiting an investment decision by the Mumbai, India-based company, said the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Hinduja may buy as much as 75 percent of the holding company of the Ebene-based bank, said one of the people.
“We confirm being considered by a strategic investor,†MauBank CEO Sridhar Nagarajan said in an emailed response to questions. “The due diligence has been completed and the discussion has moved to the next stage.†A Mumbai-based representative for Hinduja didn’t immediately respond to an email and phone calls seeking comment.