Srei Infra zooms 20% as arm receives EoI for $250 mn capital infusion

The company's Strategic Coordination Committee will coordinate, negotiate and conclude discussions with the PE investors to bring the capital into the business and advise the management

Shares of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, on Friday, hit 20 per cent upper circuit at Rs 7.02 on the BSE after its subsidiary Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL) said it has received expression of interest for up to $250 million capital infusion in the company from international private equity (PE) funds.

"Srei Equipment Finance Limited ("SEFL") said that it has received expression of interest for up to USD 250 million capital infusion in the company. The international private equity ("PE") funds are US-based Arena Investors LP and Singapore's Makara Capital Partners," the company said, in a press release. CLICK HERE FOR THE PRESS RELEASE

At 9:40 AM, around 68 lakh shares of Srei Infrastructure Finance had changed hands on the NSE and BSE, combined. There were over 37 pending buy orders.

The company's Strategic Coordination Committee (SCC), chaired by Malay Mukherjee, independent director, will coordinate, negotiate and conclude discussions with the PE investors to bring the capital into the business and advise the management, the company said. Ernst & Young (E&Y) will be advising the committee on the proposed fund raising exercise.

Arena Investors LP is a multi-strategy investment firm with $2.2 billion of committed capital while Makara Capital Partners is a global financial services company specialising in fund management, private equity as well as structuring and financing with a core focus on innovation, infrastructure and energy.

Srei had been under stress in the wake of Covid-19, which had led to an asset-liability mismatch. In the third quarter, Srei Infrastructure had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3,810.93 crore on account of higher and accelerated provisioning, which came on the back of a special audit conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) into the company and SEFL.

The company has also seen about 200 exits across various levels since December last year as banks capped salaries at Rs 50 lakh a year for senior executives.

The SCC will also be the nodal point for a comprehensive cash flow realignment plan with banks and financial institutions and for all external service providers, including investment bankers, lawyers and consultants, said SEFL.