Nuveen Invests $30 Million for 30% Stake in Aviom India Housing Finance

Nuveen, an American investment manager, has invested $30 million in Aviom India Housing Finance for a 30% stake in the mortgage lender. The investment was made through a combination of primary and secondary market deals, with the primary investment size being $20 million. The deal was concluded on Wednesday.

Existing investor Gojo & Co and Capital 4 Development Asia Fund Cooperatief UA partly offloaded their holding, with Aviom’s managing director Kajal Ilmi refusing to comment on the valuation of her company and the shareholding structure post infusion.

According to people in the know, the promoter’s holding in the company comes down to 32% from 39%, while Gojo’s stake is reduced to 19% from 39%. C4D’s stake is reduced to 9% from 13%, and Sabre Partners AIF Trust’s current holding is 3%. The balance is held by other minority shareholders.

Aviom provides loans in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for house construction, extension, and renovation. The New Delhi-based company has a network of 120 branches in 12 states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana.

The equity infusion would help Aviom extend financial assistance to over 60,000 families additionally in FY24 by disbursing around Rs 1200 crore, said Kajal Ilmi. She also added that the new equity investment would propel Aviom to grow 6x by 2026, and over the next six months, Aviom looks to increase its monthly disbursement to Rs 150 crore and will also add 50 more branches to its existing network.

Stephen Lee, senior director & head of Asia for Nuveen’s Private Equity Impact Investing team, said that Aviom and its leadership have disrupted micro-mortgage lending in India by catering to a hitherto underserved segment. “Nuveen seeks out innovative companies with transformative business models that solve real-world problems,” he said.

The lender has Rs 1050 crore of assets under management at present and a live customer base of around 50,000. It is also in the process of mobilizing Rs 1200 crore of debt. “We are in advanced stage of discussions with HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, DFC US, Blue Orchard, IIX Singapore fund, Japanese ASEAN Women Empowerment Fund for debt lines,” Ilmi said.