Promoters and Affiliates of private equity firms Warburg Pincus and True North Fund have divested a combined 19.6% stake in Home First Finance for ₹1,728 crore. The stake sale, executed through open market transactions on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), saw shares sold at ₹990 per share.
The deal involved multiple parties. Orange Clove Investments, a subsidiary of US-based Warburg Pincus, sold 94.42 lakh shares, representing a 10.6% stake in the affordable housing finance company. True North Fund V LLP, another key stakeholder, offloaded 48.09 lakh shares, which accounts for 5.4% of the company. Additionally, Aether Mauritius Ltd, another promoter, sold 32.06 lakh shares, corresponding to 3.6% of Home First Finance. The shares were sold within a price range of ₹990-990.05 per share, with the combined transaction amounting to ₹1,728.48 crore. This move reduces Warburg Pincus’ holding in Home First Finance to 12.3% from 22.9%, while True North’s stake drops to 8.67% from 14.07%. Aether Mauritius also sees its stake reduced to 5.71% from 9.31%.
In the same transaction, institutional investors including HDFC Mutual Fund, Goldman Sachs, Prudential Hong Kong, Norges Bank, Citigroup Global, Capital Group, and BofA Securities acquired a substantial 12.6% stake in Home First Finance, purchasing 1.12 crore shares at the same price point of ₹990 per share. The institutional buyers collectively invested ₹1,110.43 crore. The sale is significant as it reflects a shift in the shareholder structure of Home First Finance, which specializes in providing affordable housing finance solutions. After the stake sale, the company’s stock saw a positive movement, rising 2.10% to ₹1,074.55 per share on Monday. This divestment follows a similar move in November last year, when the same group of sellers had offloaded a 9.8% stake for ₹753 crore. The repeated stake sales indicate a strategic reshuffle by the promoters and investors, while also opening up more opportunities for institutional investors in the growing affordable housing finance sector.
