Shriram Finance: MUFG could soon be in driver's seat
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Shriram Finance Ltd stock, already trading at a lifetime high, gained another 3.7% on Friday to ₹902 after it announced MUFG Bank Ltd will buy 471 million shares at ₹840 per share in the company through a preferential allotment. The transaction gives MUFG a 20% stake.
There are good reasons for MUFG to choose Shriram Finance over other banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). Private banks in India are subject to a voting rights cap of 26% for a shareholder, whereas there is no such cap for NBFCs. Moreover, banks also suffer from the handicap of complying with cash reserve ratios, statutory liquidity ratios, and priority sector lending requirements, which pull down their return on assets (RoA).
Sure, banks have the advantage of access to low-cost deposits, mainly Casa (current account savings account), but that has not enabled them to beat the RoA of most leading NBFCs. Within NBFCs, Shriram emerges as a preferred choice, as there is potential to increase its stake in the future to gain management control without having to deal with a promoter who owns a majority stake. Take the case of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co., where the Murugappa group has a 49% stake.
The promoter stake in Shriram is just 25%, most of it owned by Shriram Capital, which in turn is owned by an employee trust. For Shriram Finance’s shareholders, the deal is positive. The capital infusion will strengthen the balance sheet with tier-1 capital increasing from 20% to 36% based on the Q2FY26 data.
It may also help in securing a rating upgrade from agencies from the current level of AA+, which could result in lower borrowing costs. For MUFG, the deal has been struck at an attractive valuation. If the
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