Mumbai-based Aditya Birla Capital announced on May 20 that its board approved a 40 billion rupees (US$413 million) equity raise to support lending and other corporate needs. Three investors are participating: Grasim Industries will invest 28.8 billion rupees (US$298 million), Suryaja Investment Pte Limited will contribute 2 billion rupees (US$20.7 million), and IFC will invest 9.2 billion rupees (US$95 million). The investment remains subject to regulatory approvals. This capital injection comes as Aditya Birla Capital strengthens its financial position to expand lending operations and support corporate initiatives.
Investment Breakdown
The 40 billion rupees raise represents a significant portion of Aditya Birla Capital's consolidated net worth of 264.5 billion rupees (US$2.73 billion) as of September 2023. Grasim Industries is taking the largest share after investing 12.5 billion rupees (US$129 million) in a similar raise in fiscal year 2024. The participation of IFC, a multilateral development financial institution, adds international backing to the fundraising.
Allocation and Use of Funds
Aditya Birla Capital stated that the funds will strengthen its capital base and support lending operations. The money may also be used for general corporate purposes, including investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures. The capital will support growth at its non-banking finance company (NBFC), which had 986 billion rupees (US$10.2 billion) in assets under management as of December 31, 2023. The housing finance arm, which maintains a 165.4 billion rupees (US$1.71 billion) loan book, will also benefit from the expanded capital base.
Planned Merger and Regulatory Path
The funding comes as Aditya Birla Capital plans to merge its main lending unit, Aditya Birla Finance Limited, into Aditya Birla Capital Limited. The merger scheme still requires regulatory and statutory approvals. The merger would simplify the company structure and meet listing criteria under scale-based rules for NBFCs.
Digital Platform Expansion
Fresh capital could support investment in UdyogPlus, a lending platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). According to program communications, processing times on the platform have been cut to minutes.
