Warburg Invest Rs 700 cr In Home First Finance

Home First Finance, True North-backed affordable housing finance firm, has entered into an agreement with Warburg Pincus-affiliate Orange Clove Investments BV for an investment of about Rs 700 crore. The investment is a combination of primary fund raise and secondary sales by existing shareholders. Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has bought a 25 per cent stake in the housing finance company. As per the agreement, all the existing shareholders including True North Fund V LLP, Aether (Mauritius) Ltd, Bessemer India Capital Holdings, and Bank of Baroda former managing director and CEO P S Jayakumar, have sold their 25 per cent stake on a proportional basis. The primary investment by Warburg Pincus is of Rs 75 crore and the balance is through the secondary route. Founded in 2010, Home First has a presence in 60 districts across 11 states and a Union territory with a significant presence in the urbanised regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It targets first-time homebuyers who are typically salaried customers working in small firms or self-employed customers who run small businesses. As of March 31, 2020, Home First had an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 3,618 crore with a net worth of Rs 933 crore and a gross non-performing asset of 0.87 per cent.