Grapevine: Edelweiss may sell 20% of wealth unit; True North-backed Home First plans IPO

By Ankit Agarwal

  • 17 Jul 2019

Financial services group Edelweiss is in talks to sell a 20% stake in its wealth management unit to US-based investment firm Kora Management, a media report said.

Kora may pay Rs 2,000 crore for the stake in Edelweiss Global Wealth Management Ltd, valuing the unit at Rs10,000 crore, The Economic Times said, citing two people aware of the development.

Edelweiss Group may use the proceeds from the stake sale to meet its debt obligations during the quarter, the report said. The group has debt obligations, including principal and interest of Rs 6,500 crore due on September 30, the report added. 

In December last year, Edelweiss was said to be in talks with several private equity firms including Blackstone, KKR and TPG to sell a stake in the wealth management unit.

New York-based Kora, which has an office in Mumbai, had picked up a minority stake in Satin Creditcare last year.

In another report, The Economic Times said that Mumbai-based lender Home First Finance Company (HFFC) plans to raise Rs 1,500 crore through an initial public offering.

Citing two people aware of the development, the report said that the company is likely to be valued around Rs 4,000 crore.

The company was founded in 2010 by former Mphasis Ltd chairman Jerry Rao and PS Jayakumar, former managing director at Bank of Baroda. Homegrown private equity firm True North owns an 80% stake in the company while venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners holds 10%. The remaining stake is held by the management.

The proposed IPO will involve both primary and secondary issue of shares, the report said.

True North had picked up the stake in Home First in early 2017.