Piramal Finance’s ₹2,100 cr QIP draws nearly 10x demand; BlackRock, Goldman Sachs among global bidders

Piramal Finance’s ₹2,100-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) has attracted bids worth nearly ₹21,000 crore, translating into demand of almost 10 times the issue size, people familiar with the matter told Fortune India. This is the first fundraise through a QIP by the non-banking financial company since its listing on the domestic bourses in November last year.

The QIP, which opened on August 25, is being offered at a price band of ₹2,000-2,110 per share. Given the strong institutional response, the company has opted for the upper end of both the issue size and the price band, the sources said.

The offering has drawn interest from leading domestic mutual funds, including ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Quant Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund and Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, the sources added.

Among global investors participating in the issue are BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Eastspring Investments.

Strong QIP demand amid sharp stock rally

The strong institutional appetite comes amid a sharp rally in Piramal Finance’s shares, which have doubled from their IPO price of ₹1,124.20 apiece. On Thursday, the stock ended 0.3% higher at ₹2,229.50 on the BSE, with a market capitalisation of ₹50,537.79 crore.

The NBFC stock touched its 52-week high of ₹2,250.95 in intraday trade on Wednesday, surging over 82% from its 52-week low of ₹1,235.15 touched on its listing day.

Piramal Finance had a capital adequacy ratio of 18.9% before the fundraise. The QIP is expected to increase the ratio by around two percentage points, strengthening the company’s balance sheet and providing additional headroom to expand its retail lending business.

“The QIP proceeds will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and support retail lending growth while helping it maintain healthy capital adequacy,” a source said.

Separately, the promoter group plans to issue warrants worth ₹1,750 crore through a preferential allotment. Together, the QIP and preferential issue will result in an equity capital infusion of around ₹3,850 crore.

The two transactions form part of Piramal Finance’s broader capital-raising programme of up to ₹4,000 crore announced earlier. During the Q1 earnings announcement, the board had approved a proposal to raise up to ₹4,000 crore through equity or equity-linked instruments, subject to shareholder approval.

Retail lending drives Q1 profit growth

For Q1 FY27, the company reported a 67% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit, supported by strong retail loan growth, higher net interest income (NII) and improved operating efficiency. Profit after tax rose to ₹461 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹276 crore a year earlier.

Total income increased 37% YoY to ₹1,693 crore, while NII rose 43% to ₹1,442 crore. Interest income increased 27% to ₹3,179 crore, while interest expense rose 16% to ₹1,736 crore.

Net interest margin expanded 47 basis points YoY to 6.5%, while the cost-to-income ratio fell sharply to 52.5% from 65.6% a year earlier. Growth-business return on average assets improved to 1.9% from 1.5%, while the average cost of borrowing declined 33 basis points to 8.8%.

Piramal Finance’s assets under management (AUM) grew 25% YoY to ₹1.07 lakh crore, led by a 32% increase in growth AUM, which excludes its discontinued legacy business. Retail AUM rose 32% to ₹91,249 crore and accounted for 85% of the overall portfolio, while wholesale AUM increased 27% to ₹13,238 crore.

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