Bajaj Finance Plans Huge Share Sale to Raise Billions

Bajaj Finance Ltd. plans to launch a share sale in Mumbai to raise as much as 117 billion rupees, or about $1.2 billion, from institutional investors as early as this week. The lending firm has finished investor roadshows and could start the qualified institutions placement in the next day or two. Five banks are working with the company on this deal: Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Ltd., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., IIFL Capital Services Ltd. and JM Financial Ltd. Talks are still ongoing, so the exact size and timing of the share offering could still change. Representatives for Bajaj Finance and the partner banks did not immediately reply to requests for comment, while a representative for JPMorgan declined to comment. This fundraise follows an earlier board approval on October 1 for plans to raise a total of 175 billion rupees through a combination of this share sale and warrants. On November 10, the firm raised about 5.8 billion rupees by giving 57.43 million warrants to its holding company, Bajaj Finserv Ltd., at a price of 1010 rupees each.

Market Context

India remains one of the busiest places in the world for equity fundraising, with companies raising roughly $50.25 billion through share offerings this year. Over the past month, Bajaj Finance shares have grown by nearly 13%, matching a 12.5% rise in the Nifty 50 Index.