CreditAccess Grameen Ltd, which operates a microlending business under the Grameen Koota brand name, has raised Rs 214 crore (approximately $30.27 million at current exchange rates) in debt funding from Dutch development bank FMO.
The Bengaluru-based CreditAccess said in a stock-exchange filing that the company’s executive, borrowings and investment committee has agreed to issue senior secured, redeemable and transferable non-convertible debentures worth Rs 10 lakh each to FMO.
Shares of the company ended the day at Rs 699.40 apiece, a 4.60% increase from Monday’s close of Rs 668.65. The stock hit an intraday trading high of Rs 712.95, with its lows touching the Rs 678-Rs 680 mark.
The company, which reported a gross loan portfolio of Rs 7,904.8 crore for the second quarter of the current financial year, provides services such as group lending products, retail finance and distributor products. It also provides access to non-financial services such as customer awareness and education programmes and sanitation efforts.
The firm filed for an initial public offering last year but made a tepid debut on stock exchanges. Its offering managed to sail through on the final day of the issue with the help of institutional investors. However, retail investors and high net-worth individuals remained on the sidelines at the time.
Currently, its market capitalisation stands at a little over Rs 10,000 crore. Other firms that operate in the same segment include Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd, Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, Equitas Holdings Ltd. and AU Small Finance Bank Ltd.
FMO
The Dutch development bank finances projects through equity and debt instruments in sectors such as agri-business, food and water, energy and financial institutions in underserved regions. Along with the Washington-headquartered International Finance Corporation, it is one of the most active global investment institutions in India.
This is the second reported investment by the institution within a week. At the end of October, it proposed a $40 million (around Rs 283.21 crore) debt investment in non-banking finance company Ess Kay Fincorp Ltd.
In the same month, it proposed a €7.50 million ($8.29 million, or Rs 59.62 crore) investment in Sahyadri Farmers Producer Co. Ltd. FMO said the proposed investment will help Sahyadri finance the construction of collection centres for the warehousing and transport of produce.
Its other investments include a debt investment of $30 million (Rs 209 crore) in Kolkata-based Srei Equipment Finance Ltd, and Nomisma Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which owns digital payments and loans platform Ftcash.