Ashmore Alchemy India, a joint venture between Alchemy Partners LLP and Ashmore Investments (UK), has started exiting its investment in gold loan retailer Manappuram Finance Ltd. The PE firm, which held 5.23 per cent in the company as of June 2011, has sold nearly 1 per cent stake earlier this month for Rs 44.95 crore.
AA Development Capital India Fund I LLC, the entity through which Ashmore Alchemy holds the stake, sold its shares for Rs 58 per unit.
The share price of Manappuram closed at Rs 57.35 on the BSE on Monday, up 0.53 per cent.
The remaining stake of Ashmore Alchemy is worth over Rs 205 crore according to Manappuram’s closing market capitalisation today. The firm had invested Rs 22.4 crore in the company through compulsorily convertible preference shares in 2008.
Last year, Sequoia Capital exited its investment in Manappuram by selling its 11 per cent stake for around Rs 293 crore in the open market, making over 5x. Another investor in Manappuram is India Equity Partners, which co-invested with Sequoia in 2007. Thereafter, the NBFC raised further rounds of investments from US-based private equity fund Granite Hill, besides Alchemy Ashmore.
Manappuram Finance reported 134 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 107.82 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, with total income going up 164 per cent to Rs 493 crore. It also launched its maiden public issue of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures to raise up to Rs 750 crore last month.
Ashmore Alchemy is a joint venture between Alchemy Partners LLP and Ashmore Investments (UK) Ltd. The fund has raised commitments of $80 million and has also invested in Gurgaon-based apparel retail firm Numero Uno Clothing and Siesta Logistics Corporation Ltd, among others.
