Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Bajaj Housing Finance, whose initial public offering (IPO) will be opened for public subscription on Monday, September 9, has collected Rs 1,758 crore from anchor investors on Friday. The price band of the Rs 6,560-crore much-awaited IPO has been fixed at Rs 66 to Rs 70 per share for the public issue. Here’s all you need to know:

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Key Dates

The IPO will be opened for public subscription on Monday, September 9. It will be concluded on Wednesday, September 11. The share allotment of the Bajaj Housing Finance IPO will likely be finalised on September 12, while its shares will be listed on both BSE and NSE on September 16.

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Quota

A total of 50 per cent of the IPO has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), 35 per cent for retail investors, and 15 per cent for high-networth individuals.

Apart from this, Bajaj Housing Finance has also reserved Rs 500 crore worth of shares under shareholder quota. Eligible shareholders of Bajaj Finance Limited and Bajaj Finserv Limited as of the Red Herring Prospectus date, i.e. August 30, 2024, would be eligible to apply for this Offer under the Shareholder’s Reservation Portion. Only bids received at or above the Offer Price will be considered in this category.

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Price Band

The price band of the Rs 6,560-crore much-awaited IPO has been fixed at Rs 66 to Rs 70 per share for the public issue.

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: GMP Today

According to market observers, unlisted shares of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd are trading Rs 50 higher in the grey market than its issue price. The Rs 50 grey market premium or GMP means the grey market is expecting a 71.43 per cent listing gain from the public issue. The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing.

‘Grey market premium’ indicates investors’ readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Analysts’ Recommendations

Giving ‘buy’ recommendation, Brokerage firm Anand Rathi in its IPO note said, “In the near term, a fundraise of Rs 7000 crore in Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd (BHFL) is likely to be a catalyst for Bajaj Finance’s (BAF) re-rating. The standalone entity delivers higher RoE (return on equity) and RoA (return on assets) than Bajaj Housing Finance and commands premium valuations. The recent correction offers an attractive entry point. We reiterate a Buy recommendation. At the CMP, the stock trades at 3.7x standalone FY26e BV(adjusted for subsidiaries).”

Another brokerage InCred Equities also recommended a ‘subscription’ rating to the IPO.

In its note, InCred Equities said, “Although mortgages look to be a pure vanilla product, they have multiple dimensions, especially in an emerging market like India. We believe BHFL’s management has the vision and capability to explore the same over the years, which makes the company attractive over the mid- to long-term horizon. We recommend subscription to the IPO.”

InCred, however, said this is expensive compared to peers like LIC Housing Finance (1.2x), PNB Housing (1.7x), and Can Fin Homes (2.7x), but in line with our expectations, given BHFL’s robust yet diversified AUM growth (+30% CAGR), sturdy asset quality (NPAs less than 1%), and superior technology platform enabling it to remain relevant in a stiff competitive environment.

“At the upper band of Rs 70, the stock will be valued at 3.2 times its trailing June 2024 book value (post dilution and adjusting for rights share allocation),” it said.

Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: More Details

Among the anchor investors are Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan India Investment Trust Plc, SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, HDFC Mutual Fund (MF), Kotak Mahindra MF, SBI MF, UTI MF and Nippon India MF.

According to a circular uploaded on BSE’s website, the company has allotted 25.11 crore equity shares to 104 funds at Rs 70 apiece, which is also the upper-end of the price band. This aggregates the transaction size to Rs 1,758 crore.

The much awaited Rs 6,560-crore initial share-sale will open for public subscription on September 9 and conclude on September 11.

The price band has been fixed at Rs 66 to Rs 70 per share for the public issue.

The proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares of up to Rs 3,560 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of equity shares to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore by parent Bajaj Finance.

The share sale is being conducted to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) regulations, which require upper layer non-banking finance companies to be listed on stock exchanges by September 2025.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to augment the company’s capital base to meet future capital requirements.

Bajaj Housing Finance is a non-deposit taking Housing Finance Company registered with the National Housing Bank since September 2015. It offers financial solutions for purchasing and renovating residential and commercial properties.

It has been identified and categorized as an “upper layer” NBFC by the RBI in India and its comprehensive mortgage products include home loans, loans against property, lease rental discounting and developer financing.

For the entire financial year 2023-24 , the housing lender posted a net profit of Rs 1,731 crore, marking a growth of 38 per cent from Rs 1,258 crore in FY23.

Aadhar Housing Finance and India Shelter Finance are two housing finance companies that have listed on the stock exchanges in recent months.

In June, Bajaj Housing Finance filed preliminary papers with Sebi for a Rs 7,000 crore IPO, comprising fresh shares worth Rs 4,000 crore and an OFS component of Rs 3,000 crore by its parent. The market regulator gave its clearance to the company’s maiden public issue earlier this month.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd, BofA Securities India Ltd, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd and JM Financial Ltd are the book running lead managers that will manage the company’s public issue.