StanChart earns $540mln from India sale

Lender had $210mln shortfall from targeted $750mln behind new India rule and European debt crisis.

Standard Chartered Plc, the U.K. lender that makes at least three quarters of its profit in Asia, raised about 24.9 billion rupees ($540 million) from the sale of shares in India, the lower end of the proposed offering.

The shares, which were offered to investors for 100 rupees ($2.16) to 115 rupees ($2.48) each last week, were sold for 104 rupees ($2.24) apiece, the bank said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday. Standard Chartered sought to raise as much as $750 million, Finance Director Richard Meddings said on May 13.

The sale, which makes the London-based bank the first company to issue Indian depository receipts, was completed in the final hours of a four-day offer period as investors delayed their bids to avoid tying up capital under a rule that went into effect this month in India. The European debt crisis also made it more difficult for companies worldwide to sell new stock.

View the full story in Business Week.