Partners Group seals deal for majority stake in NBFC Infinity Fincorp Solutions

Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Infinity and Indium IV (Mauritius) Holdings for the transaction.

Infinity Fincorp Solutions, a leading non-bank lender in India, has entered into a share purchase and subscription agreement with Partners Group, whereby the latter will acquire a significant majority stake in the company, according to an official statement.

The investment of around $230 million in Infinity was led by Partners Group with participation from existing shareholder Jungle Ventures.

On March 25, Moneycontrol was the first to report that a controlling stake may soon be up for grabs at Infinity Fincorp Solutions as lead investor home grown private equity firm True North is gearing up to exit the Mumbai-based NBFC, which specialises in providing small ticket loans against property.

The investment includes a primary issuance of around $70 million along with a secondary purchase from Indium IV (Mauritius) Holdings Limited, a Fund managed by Global Opportunity Advisors (Mauritius) Limited which is advised by True North Managers LLP and other shareholders.

Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Infinity and Indium IV (Mauritius) Holdings for the transaction.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Infinity serves unbanked and under-banked Medium Small & Micro Enterprise across India, enabling small businesses and entrepreneurs to unlock their growth potential, an official announcement said. With over 1,500 professionals, Infinity offers customized secured loans to entrepreneurs and small business owners from over 120 branches across eight states.

Infinity has more than $ 140 million in assets under management and the company has around 50,000 customers, many of which work in the agriculture, trading, and manufacturing sectors and are typically based in smaller towns and cities across the country, the announcement added.

Shrikant Ravalkar, founder, MD & CEO Infinity, said, "We welcome Partners Group and intend on leveraging their operational expertise to further broad base our mission of serving the Indian MSME sector. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to True North Partners whose unwavering support and belief in our vision since inception has been instrumental to our journey."

Maninder Juneja, Partner at True North said, “It has been a privilege to support Infinity since inception. The team has built a high quality, customer centric institution, through sharp focus and disciplined execution, delivering not just strong financial outcomes, but also fulfilling the aspirations of thousands of micro entrepreneurs across India.

Vageesh Gupta, managing director, Private Equity, Partners Group, said, "The MSME segment contributes a significant share of national GDP and we expect demand for credit will continue to rise. We believe non-bank lenders such as Infinity have advantages in catering to these enterprises due to their highly specialized operations that are better suited to providing customized solutions. Infinity has been on an incredible growth journey and we look forward to working with Shrikant and the management team."