Bajaj Finance Ltd is planning to raise capital through a share sale to institutional investors in the next 2-3 months, said S. Sreenivasan, chief financial officer of the holding company Bajaj Finserv Ltd.
The lender on Wednesday got board approval to raise Rs4,500 crore through a qualified institutional placement. Sreenivasan said the company would look to raise most of the approved amount.
“We will have to take EGM (extraordinary general meeting) approval and then we will start the process,” he said.
“Today, there is liquidity in the market and we are well-positioned to tap the market. We also want to diversify our investor base. We may like to get new investors, which will further improve the valuation of the stock and the way investors perceive us,” Sreenivasan added.
According to him, the capital position of Bajaj Finance is above regulatory requirement currently. However, given the sharp growth in its businesses, capital is expected to deplete at a faster rate and hence the plan to go for a fund-raise.
Tier-I or the equity capital base of the lender was at 14.20% as on 30 June.
Bajaj Finance provides loans to purchase consumer durables, two- and three-wheelers, and home loans, among other things. It also has SME and commercial financing verticals. On Wednesday, Bajaj Finance reported a 42% jump in net profit in the fiscal first quarter, at Rs602 crore.
The lender claims this to be its highest ever quarterly profit. Assets under management grew to Rs68,883 crore at end of June 2017 from Rs49,608 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
Sreenivasan said the proposed capital-raise would be sufficient to fulfil business requirements for at least three years. However, this will also be dependent on the actual growth achieved by the firm.
Source: Mint