Goldman, Munjal & Premji look to invest in PNB Housing Fin
MUMBAI: Goldman Sachs Group, Premjiinvest and the family office of Sunil Kant Munjal are in advanced talks to invest in PNB Housing Finance Ltd, said two people directly aware of the discussions.
PNB Housing is looking to raise as much as ₹2,000 crore through the “limited preference” route, under which a maximum of five investors can participate, the people said on condition of anonymity.
Two of its existing shareholders, private equity firms General Atlantic and Carlyle, will also infuse funds into the mortgage lender, the people said, adding that the company will use the funds to bolster its balance sheet and enhance lending to homebuyers and property developers.
“The transaction is expected to be completed by October and there is a possibility that its parent, Punjab National Bank, may also participate in the funding round, though the potential investment is still under contemplation,” said one of the two people cited earlier.
Spokespeople for PNB Housing Finance and Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while emails seeking comments from Carlyle, General Atlantic, Premjiinvest and Sunil Munjal, chairman of Hero Corporate Services, remained unanswered until press time. Premjiinvest is the fund managed by the family office of billionaire Azim Premji.
The equity infusion into PNB Housing Finance, approved by its board in July, comes at a time when the real estate sector is grappling with sluggish sales and unfinished projects due to a liquidity squeeze that has forced many developers to bring in a partner to complete projects, or sometimes even abandon them. For real estate-focused financiers, the situation has led to asset-liability mismatches that threaten their survival.
On Thursday, Altico Capital, a financier to real estate companies, defaulted on an interest payment of ₹19.9 crore. Earlier, DHFL defaulted on interest or principal payments on a series of term loans.
country’s largest lender State Bank of India has dropped its plan to take its general insurance arm public as there is no need for additional capital now, chairman Rajnish Kumar has said. Investor interest for its cards business is very high, and SBI Card listing will happen in the March quarter, he said.
The bank was earlier looking for an initial public offering (IPO) for SBI General Insurance in FY21. When asked if the IPO for general insurance will happen next fiscal, Kumar replied in the negative, saying there is no need for capital.
SBI General, valued at over ₹12,000 crore recently, is a joint venture between SBI and Insurance Australia Group with a 26% ownership.
On the additional stake sale in SBI Life, Kumar explained that the bank is required to offload an additional 2% stake as per Securities and Exchange Board of India norms, but has time till October 2020 to execute the same.
About the SBI Card IPO, he said the feelers from investors suggest that they are excited to invest in the company.
The IPO will be launched in the January-march quarter of the current fiscal and based on the valuation arrived at, SBI will take a call on the stake sale, he said.
PNB HOUSING IS LOOKING TO RAISE AS MUCH AS ₹2,000 CRORE THROUGH THE ‘LIMITED PREFERENCE’ ROUTE