(Bloomberg) -- Indian shadow lender Bajaj Finance Ltd. has picked banks including Nomura Holdings Inc. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. to arrange a share sale of about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The financier has also selected JM Financial Ltd. for the proposed offering and may add more arrangers later, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The company plans to sell the shares by December, the people said. Bajaj Finance may raise equity capital, subject to board and shareholder approval, Managing Director Rajeev Jain had told investors in July, without providing further details.
Selling shares will help Bajaj Finance to raise funds to expand lending as many of its peers grapple with a liquidity crunch. The credit profile of the financier has remained unscathed even as many of its rivals got shunned from India’s credit market after a string of defaults from IL&FS Group to Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd. over the past year.
Deliberations are ongoing and details including fundraising size could still change, the people said. Representatives for Bajaj Finance and Nomura declined to comment, while those for Kotak and JM didn’t immediately respond to emails and phone calls seeking comments.
The board of Bajaj Finance will meet on Sept. 17 to consider a proposal to raise funds via a so-called qualified institutions placement, according to a filing on Thursday.
The lender’s shares rose 25% this year, making it one of the top gainers on the 116 member BSE Finance Index. Bajaj Finance rose 1.3% in Mumbai on Thursday.
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