SKS Microfinance to double headcount to 42K IPO opens Jul 28
Date: 26-Jul-2010
NEW
DELHI : The country's largest microfinance company SKS Microfinance, which hopes
to raise around Rs 1,300 crore through its forthcoming IPO, plans to double its
headcount to 42,000 by the end of the current fiscal as it expands
capacity.
"We will expand our branch network from the current 2,000.
We have been doubling our headcount for the past two years. Going by previous
records we can be hopeful of doubling the headcount in the current fiscal too,"
SKS Microfinance chief executive and managing director Suresh Gurumani said here
today. At the end of the last fiscal, the company had 21,000
employees.
The Hyderabad-based microfinance firm's initial public
offering, which opens on July 28, will the first such issue by any microfinance
company in the country. The issue, comprising 1.6 crore equity shares of Rs 10
each closes on July 30 for institutional buyers and August 2 for
others.
According to street estimate, the company would price its
share offer in the range of Rs 650-700 a share. When asked about the likely
price band, Gurmani said, "it would be somewhere around the price at which the
company founder sold shares in February."
Earlier this year, SKS
Microfinance founder-chairman sold his stake in the company to some private
equity funds at the rate of Rs 636 a share.
Though, Gurumani did not
disclose how much money the company expects to raise funds through the IPO,
investment banking sources say the company will be able to raise fund in the
range of Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,300 crore.
He said a host of anchor
investors have shown interest in the IPO and the company is also considering a
discount for attracting retail investors. Citigroup Global Markets, Credit
Suisse and Kotak Mahindra are acting as book-running lead-managers to the issue.
"To reach about 50 lakh clients, you need a larger pool of capital. We have been
tapping various sources at different levels of our growth...that being the
trajectory, IPO is the best way to raise money to grow in the space," SKS
founder and chairman Vikram Akula had earlier said.
Venture capital
firm Sequoia is the largest shareholder in SKS, while other leading stakeholders
include Kismat Capital, Mutual Benefit Trust and Sandstone, amongst others.
Post-issue, holding of Sequoia will come down to around 15.1 per cent from the
current 22.3 per cent.
SKS mostly gives loans towards trade finance,
which constitutes nearly 29 per cent of its portfolio. SKS charges an average
interest of 28 per cent per annum and a capital adequacy ratio of 28 per cent.
Its total disbursements stand at Rs 14,387 crore so far and a loan outstanding
of Rs 4,321 crore.
Posted By : Neha Chaturvedi
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