BENGALURU (Reuters) – Shares of IndoStar Capital Finance climbed to an over three-year high on Friday, a day after the Indian non-bank lender announced a $209 million deal to sell its home finance unit to private equity firm EQT.
The deal will allow IndoStar to focus on its core businesses of vehicle finance and small business loans, the company said in an exchange filing late on Thursday.
Once the deal closes, EQT plans to invest 5 billion rupees ($59.84 million) in the affordable housing loan provider, IndoStar Home Finance.
The private equity firm has been amping up its financial services portfolio in India, having bought a stake in education finance firm HDFC Credila last year.
Demand for affordable housing is lagging a boom seen in luxury housing in India, but lenders are banking on government support to tap the largely penetrated market.
Bajaj Housing Finance, a lender primarily focused on luxury home finance which went public this month, entered the affordable segment earlier this year, while Godrej Capital is reported to be targeting the segment.
IndoStar Capital shares jumped 14% to their highest since Aug. 2021, before trimming some gains to last trade up 4.8%.
($1 = 83.5500 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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