Bank of America has entered an agreement to buy the remaining 10 per cent it doesn’t already control of Indian investment banking and wealth management firm DSP Merrill Lynch from Hemendra Kothari, the firm’s founder and chairman, reports India’s Economic Times.

In 2005, Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America at the start of this year, paid $500 million to increase its holding in DSP Merrill Lynch to 90 per cent.

Mr Kothari, who will step down as chairman in a fortnight, is reported to have said: “I thought with the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch now in place, it’s time to look for what I want to do in future.”

The report speculated that the deal could be worth over $100 million, but Mr Kothari declined to comment on the size of the transaction.

According to the paper, Kevin Watts, DSP Merrill Lynch’s India president, is to take over as country head India for the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch firm.