ESAF Small Finance Bank had filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for a 9.8-bln-rupee initial public offering. The offering comprises a fresh issue of shares worth 8 bln rupees and an offer for sale of up to 1.8 bln rupees, the Kerala-based bank said in a release today.
The bank may also consider a pre-offering placement of up to 3 bln rupees in consultation with book running lead managers, which include Axis Capital Ltd, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, ICICI Securities Ltd, and IIFL Securities Ltd. If the pre-placement is undertaken, the amount raised will be reduced from the fresh issue, according to the draft papers. The net proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to augment the bank's tier-I capital, the bank said.
One of the 10 operational small finance banks in India, ESAF Small Finance Bank's total gross advances stood at 54.7 bln rupees as on Sep 30. Of the total book, microfinance loans accounted for nearly 96%.
