HDB Financial gets regulator's nod for ₹12,500-crore IPO

Mint

2 days ago

HDB Financial Services Ltd, owned by HDFC Bank Ltd, has received the capital markets regulator's approval for a ₹ 12,500-crore initial public offering.
The non-bank financier filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on 30 October, comprising a fresh issue of up to ₹ 2,500 crore and an offer for sale of up to ₹ 10,000 crore. The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued an observation letter to the lender on 28 May.
The final set of Sebi observations is essentially an in-principle approval for the IPO, according to market participants. Typically, after a company files its DRHP, the regulator responds within 45 days. However, in this case, Sebi took about seven months.
'With these final observations in place, the company has a 12-month window to file its red-herring prospectus (RHP) and can launch the IPO anytime within that period,' said Vipin Singhal, director at Anand Rathi Investment Banking.
While the IPO market is currently subdued, a number of deals are lined up and ready to go once market sentiment improves, Singhal added. So far this year, the Nifty 50 has risen just 3%.
Parent HDFC Bank, which owns 94.32% of HDB Financial Services, will sell shares worth ₹ 10,000 crore via an offer for sale.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that HDB Financial Services was nearing Sebi's approval for its IPO. The nod would allow the subsidiary of HDFC Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, to finally move forward with a deal that could raise up to $1.5 billion, following months of waiting for regulatory clearance.
At $1.5 billion, it would be the largest IPO by a non-bank financial company (NBFC) in India and the biggest across sectors since Hyundai Motor India Ltd's $3.3 billion listing last year.
South Korea's LG Electronics had planned to list its Indian unit in May but has reportedly delayed the IPO due to market volatility and valuation concerns. The $3.3-billion offering may now take place in the second or third quarter of the current fiscal year, depending on market conditions, as per reports.
The proposed listing would also help HDB Financial Services meet a regulatory norm that mandated certain large non-bank financiers to go public.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its 2021 guidelines said that upper-layer NBFCs must be listed within three years of being identified as one. The non-bank subsidiary of India's largest private lender HDFC Bank was among the 16 names listed by RBI in September 2022, effectively giving it time till September 2025 to get listed.
RBI regulations classify NBFCs into four layers based on the size, activity and perceived risks. The upper layer comprises prominent names like Tata Sons Pvt, LIC Housing Finance Ltd and Shriram Finance Ltd.
Established in 2007, HDB Financial has three primary verticals: enterprise lending, asset finance, and consumer finance.
HDB Financial reported a net profit of ₹ 2,176 crore in FY25, down from ₹ 2,461 crore in the previous financial year. Its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio, though down from the highs seen three to four years ago, rose in 2024-25, showed data from its FY25 annual report. In FY25, the gross NPA — bad loans as a percentage of total loans — stood at 2.26% compared with 1.9% in FY24.
'With the economy projected to continue growing, the company, with its diversified product portfolio, broad reach through its network of branches across the country and its digital infrastructure, is cautiously optimistic in its outlook for FY 2025-26,' said its FY25 annual report.
Mint reported in January that the markets regulator is examining a potential violation of the Companies Act by HDB Financial Services 17 years ago, as the non-bank lender prepares for a $1.5 billion IPO, citing three people aware of the matter.
As per the report, Sebi found that the lender in 2008 issued shares to more than 50 employees of its parent HDFC Bank through a private placement. Under the Companies Act, issuing shares to more than 50 people is considered a public issue, requiring compulsory Sebi clearance.