ESAF Small Finance Bank to launch IPO on November 3, aims to raise Rs 463 cr

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

IPO) of ESAF Small Finance Bank will be launched on November 3. The issue will be available for public subscription till November 7 and the anchor investors' allocation will be done on November 2.

ESAF refiled its draft IPO papers in July this year and received approval for the same from Sebi earlier this month.

The price band for the IPO, which includes a fresh equity issue of Rs 391 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 72 crore, will be
announced soon.

Under the OFS, promoter selling shareholder ESAF Financial Holdings will offload stake worth Rs 49 crore and other selling shareholders PNB MetLife and Bajaj Allianz Life make up for the remaining OFS portion.

The offer is being made through the book building process, where about 50% of the issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors and the rest 35% for retail investors.

The proceeds from the fresh issue will be used towards augmenting the Bank’s Tier– I capital base to meet its future capital requirements.

As a small finance bank, ESAF requires at least 75% of its adjusted net bank credit to be allocated to priority sectors.

Their business model revolves around responsible banking principles, offering customer-centric products and services through innovative technology applications.

Its asset products include micro loans, retail loans, MSME loans, loans to financial institutions, and agricultural loans. As of March 2023, 62.84% of the lender's gross advances were directed towards customers in rural and semi-urban areas, and 71.71% of their banking outlets were located in these regions.

Between FY21-23, the Bank's assets under management (AUM) grew to Rs 16,331, with a CAGR of 39.22%, the highest among their peers