PNB Housing Finance files prospectus for Rs2,500-cr IPO

PNB Housing Finance has filed its IPO for Rs2,500 crore and foreign equity funds Destimoney and Carlyle will continue as anchor investors to the issue, reports quoting Sanjay Gupta, MD of PNB Housing Finance, said on Tuesday.

PNB Housing Finance filed the draft red herring prospectus for the IPO with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday and hopes to come out with the issue within a month after Sebi clearance.

The IPO Rs2,500 crore has a greenshoe option of 20 per cent and the entire proceeds from the IPO will be used as a growth capital, Gupta was quoted as saying.

PNB Housing Finance has invested heavily in technology, people, processes and infrastructure, so what is needed most now is capital to grow, he added.

PNB Housing Finance is 51 per cent owned by parent company Punjab National Bank and will continue to be majority shareholder even after the IPO, although there may be some changes in the shareholding depending on the response from investors.

However, PNB's shareholding of 51 per cent will not come down to any great extend, Gupta added.

PNB Housing Finance's loan book stood at Rs27,000 crore as of 31 March 2016, according to Gupta, adding that this has increased to around Rs30,000 crore at present.

The housing finance company has about 46 branches and plans to add about 20-22 branches each year, over the next five years.

According to Gupta, the asset quality of PNB Housing Finance is one of the best right now. Gross NPAs of the company stood at 0.22 per cent against the industry average of around 1 per cent.

Meanwhile Destimoney, which has been a shareholder right from 2009 but changed hands to New Silk Route and now belong to the Carlyle Group, will remain a shareholder even after the IPO, he added.