ESAF Small Finance Bank files Rs 998-crore IPO papers with Sebi

ESAF Small Finance Bank has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 998 crore through an initial public offer (IPO).

The Rs 997.78-crore public issue comprises fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 800 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 197.78 crore by existing selling shareholders, the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi showed.

Under the offer for sale, promoter will be selling shares worth Rs 150 crore, PNB MetLife would be offloading shares to the tune of Rs 21.33 crore, Bajaj Allianz Life will offer shares of Rs 17.46 crore, PI Ventures will sell Rs 8.73 crore worth shares and John Chakola will offer shares worth Rs 26 lakh.

The bank may consider a pre-IPO placement of equity shares for an aggregate amount up to Rs 300 crore. If the pre-IPO placement is undertaken, the amount raised from such placement will be reduced from the fresh issue.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to augment the bank's Tier I capital base to meet future capital requirements.

ESAF Small Finance Bank is one of the leading small finance banks in India in terms of client base size, yield on advances, net interest margin, assets under management compound annual growth rate (CAGR), total deposit CAGR, loan portfolio concentration in rural and semi-urban areas and ratio of micro loan advances to gross advances.

As at May 31, 2021, the small finance bank had over 4.68 million customers in 21 states and two union territories.

Axis Capital, Edelweiss Financial Services, ICICI Securities and IIFL Securities have been appointed as merchant bankers to advise the bank on the IPO.

The equity shares of the bank will be listed on BSE and NSE.