India`s HDB Financial, a unit of HDFC Bank, files for $1.5 billion IPO
India's HDB Financial Services, the non-banking lending unit of HDFC Bank, has filed for an initial public offering of up to 125 billion rupees ($1.49 billion), in line with its parent's announcement earlier this month.
HDFC Bank, which holds a 94.6% stake in the lender, will sell shares worth up to 100 billion rupees, while HDB Financial will issue fresh shares worth up to 25 billion rupees, according to draft papers filed late on Wednesday.
HDB Financial said it would use its share of the IPO proceeds for capital requirements, including onwards lending.
Last month, HDFC Bank approved the unit's IPO, marking the group's first public float in six years as it aims to meet the financial regulator's deadline that "upper layer" non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), based on their size, activity and perceived risk levels, be listed by September 2025.
Bajaj Housing Finance went public in September to meet that requirement, in what was one of the best major listings in a red-hot Indian IPO market this year.
About 270 companies in India have raised more than $12.57 billion through IPOs so far this year, according to LSEG data, higher than the $7.42 billion raised in all of last year.
Incorporated in 2007, HDB Financial Services provides secured and unsecured loans and has more than 1,680 branches across India.
Jefferies, Goldman Sachs and BofA Securities are among the book running lead managers to the IPO. ($1 = 84.0830 Indian rupees)