According to Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines, HSBC''s latest acquisition will attract an open offer. This is the second acquisition by a foreign bank in India in the recent past, the first being that by Dutch bank, ING group, in Vysya Bank.

HSBC is understood to have bought the 20.08-per cent stake from two private funds — 12.37 per cent from CDC Financial Services (Mauritius) Ltd and 7.71 per cent from the CDC-controlled South Asia Regional Fund.