Ahead of IPO, Bajaj Housing Finance garners Rs 1,758-cr from anchor investors

NEW DELHI: Bajaj Housing Finance on Friday said it has collected Rs 1,758 crore from anchor investors, days before its initial share-sale opening for public subscription.

Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan India Investment Trust Plc, SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, HDFC Mutual Fund (MF), Kotak Mahindra MF, SBI MF, UTI MF and Nippon India MF are among the anchor investors.

According to a circular uploaded on BSE's website, the company has allotted 25.11 crore equity shares to 104 funds at Rs 70 apiece, which is also the upper-end of the price band. This aggregates the transaction size to Rs 1,758 crore.

The much awaited Rs 6,560-crore initial share-sale will open for public subscription on September 9 and conclude on September 11.

The price band has been fixed at Rs 66 to Rs 70 per share for the public issue.

The proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares of up to Rs 3,560 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of equity shares to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore by parent Bajaj Finance.

The share sale is being conducted to comply with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulations, which require upper layer non-banking finance companies to be listed on stock exchanges by September 2025.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to augment the company's capital base to meet future capital requirements.

Bajaj Housing Finance is a non-deposit taking Housing Finance Company registered with the National Housing Bank since September 2015. It offers financial solutions for purchasing and renovating residential and commercial properties.

It has been identified and categorized as an "upper layer" NBFC by the RBI in India and its comprehensive mortgage products include home loans, loans against property, lease rental discounting and developer financing.

For the entire financial year 2023-24 , the housing lender posted a net profit of Rs 1,731 crore, marking a growth of 38 per cent from Rs 1,258 crore in FY23.

Aadhar Housing Finance and India Shelter Finance are two housing finance companies that have listed on the stock exchanges in recent months.

In June, Bajaj Housing Finance filed preliminary papers with Sebi for a Rs 7,000 crore IPO, comprising fresh shares worth Rs 4,000 crore and an OFS component of Rs 3,000 crore by its parent. The market regulator gave its clearance to the company's maiden public issue earlier this month.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd, BofA Securities India Ltd, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd and JM Financial Ltd are the book running lead managers that will manage the company's public issue.