An investment firm floated by a former chief executive of Motilal Oswal Group’s housing finance arm has acquired a minority stake in Mumbai-listed Akme Star Housing Finance Ltd.
Arkfin Investments Pvt. Ltd, set up by Anil Sachidanand last year, is investing Rs 15.5 crore ($2.2 million) in Akme through preferential shares, according to a stock-exchange filing.
Mumbai-based Arkfin is buying 3.37 million shares, or about a fifth of Akme, at Rs 46 apiece. Shares of Akme jumped almost 6% on Wednesday to close at Rs 60.80 apiece, giving the company a market value of about Rs 75 crore.
Akme was set up in 2009 and caters mainly to lower- and middle-income customers in Rajasthan. The company listed on the BSE in March 2015.
Akme managing director Ashish Jain said in a separate statement that Arkfin’s investment will help the company expand its presence and build a quality loan book.
He added that Akme is adding its footprint in Indore, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai, and that it will soon roll out its products and services targeting first-time homebuyers in projects qualifying under the government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Balraj Dubey, director at Arkfin, said the investment is part of the company’s strategy to have a presence in the home finance segment.
Prior to starting Arkfin, Sachidanand was managing director and CEO at Aspire Home Finance Corp, now known as Motilal Oswal Home Finance Ltd, for nearly five years until August 2018. Previous, he was CEO at Dewan Housing Finance Corp for five years. He has also worked with IDBI Bank and HDFC Bank in the past.
In April this year, VCCircle reported that Sachidanand was starting a real-estate-focussed alternative investment fund called Arkfin and two non-banking finance companies.
