Housing lender Home First Finance Co India filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to Rs 1,500 crore (15 billion rupees), according to a draft prospectus from one of its bookrunners dated November 28.
The offering comes at a time when the shadow banking industry is battling a credit crunch, triggered by the collapse of lending major Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) in late-2018 amid fraud allegations.
The IPO, which comprises a fresh issue of shares to raise Rs 400 crore, also includes an offer for sale by existing investors of up to Rs 1,100 crore.
Mumbai-headquartered Home First, founded in 2010, received Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, whose global portfolio includes names such as Yelp Inc, Pinterest and Shopify.
The shadow lender became profitable in 2014 and now has about 60 branches, according to its website. Its assets under management crossed 24 billion rupees in March this year.
In the six months ended Sept. 30, the company made a profit after tax of Rs 36.74 crore, compared with Rs 11.46 crore last year, its IPO paperwork showed.
[“source=economictimes”]
