Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM), Trilegal, S&R Associates and Cravath Swaine & Moore have acted on HDB Financial Services’ initial public offering (IPO), raising INR125 billion (USD1.45 billion), which is the fifth largest listing in India and the biggest by a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
“We have advised on various capital markets transactions undertaken by HDFC Bank (including HDFC) and this was the first IPO by the HDFC group after the merger of HDFC into HDFC Bank,” Devaki Mankad, partner at CAM, told India Business Law Journal.
“With HDB being categorised as an ‘upper layer NBFC’ by the RBI [Reserve Bank of India], having a regulatory deadline set for achieving a listing, working on this transaction represented the culmination of extensive preparation, collaboration across multiple disciplines and co-ordination among all stakeholders.”
Mankad said the transaction involved complex regulatory compliances and disclosures, extensive co-ordination with stakeholders and providing strategic support to address queries from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
CAM advised HDB Financial Services on India law, with partner Mankad leading the team. Senior associate Akash Joshi as well as associates Raksha Raina, Urmil Shah, Nayanika Gupta, Gaurav Lalwani, Janhavi Deshmukh and Yashi Gulecha assisted.
HDB Financial Services’ IPO is the most significant of the year so far and ranks as the second-most oversubscribed billion-dollar IPO in 含羞草社区 history, with an overall subscription of 16.69 times.
The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers saw a subscription of 55.47 times, emphasising the institutional interest.
The offer comprised a fresh issue of 33,783,782 equity shares aggregating to USD290.7 million , alongside an offer for sale of 135,135,135 equity shares amounting to USD1.16 billion by the promoter, HDFC Bank.
Trilegal counselled HDFC Bank, advising the promoter and selling shareholder. Partner Richa Choudhary led the team, with support from counsel Maitreya Rajurkar, senior associates Sanya Chaudhari and Shivayana Balodia, and associate Anay Jain.
The syndicate of 12 book running lead managers (BRLMs) to the offer comprised JM Financial, BNP Paribas, BofA Securities India, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), IIFL Capital Services, Jefferies India, Morgan Stanley India Company, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India), Nuvama Wealth Management, and UBS Securities India.
S&R Associates advised the BRLMs on India law. Partners Sandip Bhagat, Jabarati Chandra and Jitesh Shahani led the team, supported by associates Shwetank Sharma, Aarushi Kapoor, Anushka Rungta and Aarush Sharma.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore acted as international legal counsel to the BRLMs. The registrar to the offer was MUFG Intime India, formerly known as Link Intime India.
MUFG Intime India is an integrated player in the IPO and corporate registry business with a pan-India reach.
HDB Financial Services debuted on the NSE and BSE on 2 July with net proceeds intended to reinforce the company’s capacity for future growth.
