MUMBAI: Morgan Stanley has picked up an equity stake in Ummeed Housing Finance in the company’s Rs 164-crore series-D funding round. Ummeed Housing is backed by Swiss investor LGT, which has acquired India-focused fund Aspada from Soros Economic Development Fund.
The latest funding round has been led by a fund managed by global investor Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, which acquired a minority stake in the company. Investment bank Avendus Capital acted as the financial adviser to the company on the transaction. Existing investor LGT Lightstone Aspada also participated in the round. This equity round comes on the back of the $10-million equity raised in September 2018.
Ummeed Housing set up shop in 2016 and is focused on the informal and the low-income segment, predominantly in tier-2 and -3 towns. The company is a new-age lender having built a fully digitised loan approval and disbursal process, which allows for a quick turnaround of customer requests. Besides home loans, it offers secured business loans to the MSME sector. “This fundraising gives us clear visibility on the equity front before the next financial year. We will use these proceeds to further expand in new geographies and continue to strengthen our technology platform, with a focus on building state-of-the-art underwriting practices,” said Ashutosh Sharma, founder and MD, Ummeed Housing Finance. He added the company is targeting to double its assets to Rs 1,000 crore in 12-18 months. “The housing finance sector in India has seen a liquidity crunch for most of this financial year, with stress in a couple of large housing finance companies. Fund raising from a credible private equity investor in the current environment signifies the trust the fund has shown in the company’s growth story and robust business model.” he added.
February 27, 2020