Dewan raises Rs 500 cr through QIP, preferential allotment

Home finance firm Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) today announced that it had raised Rs 500 crore through a combination of qualified institutional placement (QIP) and preferential allotment of equity shares.

The firm placed Rs 375 crore worth of equity shares with qualified institutional investors at a price of Rs 222 per share. A major portion of the issue was picked up by foreign institutional investors such as Equinox, Mirae Asset Management and EMM. The government of Singapore’s main sovereign wealth fund GIC also participated in the issue.

The firm issued Rs 100 crore of equity to its promoters, the Wadhawan family and another Rs 25 crore to UK-based investment fiem Caledonia Investment Plc. Caledonia has a 11 per cent stake in DHFL as of 31 march 31, 2010.

The promoters own a 45.42 per cent stake in the company which will be marginally diluted as a result of the equity infusion.

The capital infusion will take the firm’s capital adequacy ratio well above 20 per cent, DHFL Chairman and managing Director Kapil Wadhawan said.

“We are very well-capitalized after the latest round of capital-raising. We are unlikely to require capital for the next two-and-a-half years. The capital will be used for growing our loan book,” he added.

The firm is targeting a minimum loan book growth of 30-35 per cent in the current financial year.

The firm reported a net profit of Rs 150.69 crore on an income of Rs 990.55 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2010.

“Last year, we disbursed Rs 3,865 crore of loans on an incremental basis. This year we should cross the Rs 5,000 crore mark,” Wadhawan said.

DHFL’s shares rose 2.63 per cent to close at Rs 236.33 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.