Veritas Finance, backed by private equity firm Kedaara Capital and venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partners, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering.
The non-bank lender had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in January. SEBI issued its observations in April, as per a public disclosure.
Veritas plans to raise a total of Rs 2,800 crore ($324 million) through the IPO. This comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 600 crore by the company, and an offer for sale by existing shareholders amounting to Rs 2,200 crore.
The offer for sale involves five investors—Kedaara Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, British International Investment (BII), Lok Capital, and Growth Catalyst.
According to the DRHP, Norwest and Kedaara each aim to raise Rs 550 crore, BII Rs 500 crore, Lok Capital Rs 425 crore, and Growth Catalyst Rs 75 crore by selling part of their holdings.
As reported by VCCircle in January, Kedaara and Norwest are likely to beat the exit benchmark with this offering, but BII and Lok Capital are expected to churn out even higher returns.
Veritas counts other alternative investment firms—Multiples PE, Evolvence India, a PE fund managed by Avendus, and International Finance Corporation—among its shareholders, but these are not participating in the IPO.
In addition to Veritas Finance, five other companies have also received SEBI’s approval for IPO. These are Laxmi India Finance, Jaajoo Rashmi Refractories, Ajay Poly, Regaal Resources, and Earthood Services.
