Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd said Friday it has raised Rs 441 crore (about $60 million) by selling another chunk of its stake in UK-based OakNorth Bank Ltd’s parent.
The mortgage lender sold the stake in OakNorth Holdings Ltd to Switzerland-based alternative investment firm Riva Capital Partners, it said in a stock-exchange filing.
This is the fourth time that Indiabulls Housing has offloaded OakNorth shares within a month. It divested a stake of about 3% for Rs 440 crore in early September, sold shares worth Rs 82 crore in mid-September and then divested shares worth Rs 630 crore at the end of the month.
Indiabulls said that, with the latest stake sale, the company has raised a total of Rs 2,273 crore as fresh equity in September and October. This comprises Rs 1,590 crore through the sale of OakNorth shares and Rs 683 crore via a sale of its own shares to institutional investors.
The non-bank lender held a 15.71% stake in OakNorth Holdings as of March 31, according to its annual report for 2019-20. Its stake would have fallen to around 5% after the latest sale.
Indiabulls Housing had invested Rs 663 crore in the London-based bank in November 2015 for a 39.8% stake. It had made the investment after failing to get a banking licence in India. Simultaneously, Indiabulls promoter Sameer Gehlaut had bought up to 10% more in OakNorth for Rs 166 crore. The twin deals valued OakNorth around $250 million at the time.
Indiabulls Housing’s stake in OakNorth fell in October 2017 when the bank raised fresh capital from new investors at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The following month, Indiabulls divested a 10% stake in the bank for $118 million (about Rs 770 crore).
The Indian company’s stake in OakNorth fell again when SoftBank Group Corp invested $440 million in the British lender at a valuation of $2.8 billion last year.
