Some partnerships are forged in a crisis and stay strong long after. Others survive the crisis only to fracture years later over something as dry-sounding as authorised share capital. BharatPe and Centrum Group appear to be living the second version right now, and a Delhi court just stepped in to press pause.
The Delhi High Court has restrained Unity Small Finance Bank from moving ahead with a plan to raise its authorised share capital from Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 4,900 crore, handing BharatPe interim relief in a dispute that has been building between the bank's two key shareholders. Unity SFB had wanted the increase to convert certain warrants into compulsorily convertible preference shares before they expire later this year. BharatPe pushed back, arguing the move could not go ahead without its consent under the shareholders' agreement, and that the conversion would meaningfully dilute its ownership in the bank.
For now, the court has told Unity SFB not to place the proposal before its board while the matter heads to arbitration, making clear this is an interim order that does not settle who is actually right.
The backstory adds weight to the standoff. Unity SFB came into existence in 2021, when a consortium led by BharatPe and Centrum Financial Services stepped in to take over the collapsed Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank under an RBI-backed rescue plan. BharatPe emerged from that rescue holding close to 49% of the bank, a stake substantial enough that any dilution would sting.
What plays out in arbitration will say a lot about how much control BharatPe actually retained after helping save Unity SFB in the first place, and it is a reminder that even reconstruction deals born out of goodwill can eventually turn into ordinary boardroom fights over who gets to decide what happens next.
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