Bain’s Manappuram deal is being delayed due to Indian regulatory concerns, sources say

RBI has raised objections to Bain Capital’s plan to acquire a controlling stake in Manappuram Finance because the US company has a controlling stake in another Indian lender, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Shares in Manappuram fell on the news, eventually cutting losses by 5%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) frowns on investors who control multiple lenders – be they banks or non-banks. Private equity firms that have held 20% or more in non-bank lenders have previously had to divest their stakes despite opposition from the RBI.

Bain, which announced its planned investment in the gold loan business last March, is exploring a phased disinvestment in Tyger Capital, a smaller company, to address the RBI’s concerns, one of the people said.

The sources were not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified.

Bain declined to comment. It received approval for the Manappuram deal, announced last March, from India’s market regulator and the Competition Commission, but the RBI is the final authority for approving large share purchases in banks and non-bank lenders.

Manappuram, which provides loans using gold as collateral, did not respond to a request for comment.

The RBI also did not respond to a request for comment, while Tyger declined to comment.

The proposed deal calls for Bain to acquire 18% of Manappuram for about 44 billion rupees ($488 million), after which it would launch an open offer for another 26%. That would make Bain one of two controlling shareholders with the right to influence management decisions.

The investments would be made through two of its funds, BC Asia Investments XXV and BC Asia Investments XIV.

Bain owns 93% of non-bank lender Tyger Capital, formerly Adani Capital, after buying shares from the Adani family in 2023. That investment is in the hands of the Bain Capital Special Situations fund.

Bain has argued that the investments are being made through different funds and teams, but one of the sources said this argument is unlikely to sway the RBI.

Manappuram has a loan book of 315 billion rupees ($3.5 billion), focused on high-growth gold loans. Tyger has a smaller asset base of Rs73.2 billion, which includes corporate, agricultural and residential loans.

The Indian financial sector saw a rush of foreign investments last year. Japan’s MUFG announced in December that it would acquire a 20% stake in Shriram Finance for $4.4 billion. Blackstone agreed in October to pay about $700 million for a 9.9% stake in Federal Bank of India.

Published on January 9, 2026