Local financial services provider Indiabulls Ventures has raised ₹2,000 crore (or $300 million) through a preferential share sale to help expand its credit business.
Several bulge-bracket investors, including the Soros Fund, DF International Partners and Steadview Capital, are said to have bought those preference shares that can’t be sold in the next one year, two people familiar with the matter told ET. Some other investors include Valiant Capital, Chandler Corporation, Toscafund, and Think Investments.
Individual investors could not be contacted immediately for comments. Indiabulls did not respond to ET’s e-mail, but later sent a release to BSE with details on the matter.
“The board of Indiabulls Ventures (IVL) held a meeting on Friday and has approved the fundraising from overseas investors,” said one of the persons cited above. In market parlance, it is known as a preferential issue of the company’s equity shares.
The subscription closed on Friday with the total demand for the issue reaching about ₹3,000-3,200 crore. Sources said that against an issue size of $ 300 million, the company had received an aggregate demand for $ 500 million.
Many of these investors are known for their successful bets in technology-enabled businesses. For example, DF was an early investor in Alibaba, and Steadview Capital bought an early stake in Ola Cabs. Chandler Corporation, meanwhile, is one of the largest investors in the Indian financial space.
Last year, Indiabulls Ventures entered the micro, small and medium enterprise lending business through its wholly-owned subsidiary IVL Finance Ltd (IVLFL) that has a loan book of more than ₹4,000 crore.
IVL Finance, formerly known as Shivshakti Financial Services, is a non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the central bank and a 100% subsidiary of Indiabulls Ventures.
In the past one month, Indiabulls Ventures shares surged 83% to close at ₹488.45 Friday. A few days earlier, the company said in an exchange platform that its board would meet to consider a preferential issue of equity shares.
Source: Economic Times