Securities services provider Orbis Financial, on Tuesday announced that it has raised Rs 111 crore from both existing and new investors including investor Ashish Kacholia.
Mumbai-based boutique investment banking firm DerivativeSaint was the sole adviser to Orbis Financial for the latest deal.
Orbis Financial plans to use the raised capital to capitalise on the growth momentum to further bolster achieving the leadership position in the securities services business in India, it said in a release.
The Gurugram and Mumbai-based company provides institutional investors with securities services, particularly catering to mutual fund houses, foreign portfolio investors, institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) across segments.
Custodian banking services basically include settlement, safekeeping and reporting of investors’ securities and cash.
Orbis Financial is currently headed by Shyam Agarwal, who is the company’s managing director (MD) and chief operating executive (CEO). Prior to joining Orbis in 2017, Agarwal was heading the custody business at the ICICI Bank.
The firm is registered with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a designated depository participant for foreign portfolio investors as well as a clearing member on multiple exchanges including NSE, BSE, MSEI and MCX in a variety of segments. It is also a depositary participant with the securities depositories NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) and CDSL (Central Depository Services).
The company also provides trustee services through its subsidiary Orbis Trusteeship Services Private Limited, which is registered with SEBI as ‘Trustees’ and undertakes the activities of a “Debenture Trustee”.
The company claimed that it has witnessed stellar growth in assets under custody (AUC), clearing services, trustee, and fund accounting services, among others. It also claimed that the growth came in a highly capital-efficient manner as it had a strong focus on unit-level economics.
It pits against several Indian banks such as Axis Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank as well as international investment banking firms such as BNP Paribas. Other Sebi-registered custodians of securities include IL&FS Securities Services, DBS Bank, Edelweiss Custodial Services, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, IL&FS Securities Services, and JPMorgan Chase Bank.
