Warburg Pincus buys majority stake in Vistaar Finance for $250 mn

Vistaar Finance is a leading SME lender in India; it operates in 12 states with over 2,500 staff serving 40,000 customers; AUM of Rs 3,150 crore as of March 2023

Warburg Pincus, a US-based private equity firm, said it has paid close to $250 million for a 90 per cent stake in Vistaar Finance, an NBFC that lends to small and medium companies in India.

As part of the transaction, Avijit Saha will join the company as CEO and will be co-investing

in it in partnership with Warburg Pincus, a statement by the PE firm said on Monday.

Saha brings over 30 years of experience in retail, rural, digital banking and SME credit. He has been a transformative growth leader, having made market changing impacts at ICICI Bank.

The company has emerged as one of India’s leading MSME lenders in India, with a clear vision to serve small businesses and become a key catalyst in India’s drive towards “Make in India”.

 

Vistaar operates in 12 states with over 2,500 employees serving 40,000 customers. The firm managed an AUM of Rs 3,150 crore as of March 2023.

Following the transaction, Vistaar has a net-worth of Rs 1,210 crore with a capital adequacy of 37 per cent, making it one of the best capitalized NBFCs in the country to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead.