IDFC likely to announce sale of mutual fund business today evening

IDFC Ltd is likely to announce the sale of its mutual fund business on Wednesday evening after the Board’s approval, sources aware of the development said.

According to media reports, a consortium led by Bandhan Financial Holdings is leading the race to acquire IDFC AMC.

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, private equity player ChrysCapital are some of the partners of the consortium. Bandhan Financial is also the holding company of Kolkata-based private sector lender Bandhan Bank. The deal will allow the Bandhan group to enter India’s growing mutual fund business which currently manages Rs 38 trillion of assets.

IDFC Limited and IDFC Financial Holding Company Limited in its board meeting in September 2021 approved the divestment of its mutual fund (MF) business.

IDFC MF with assets under management (AUM) of over Rs 1.21 trillion as in the Jan-March quarter is one of the top ten players in the MF industry.

IDFC announced the sale of its MF business after the company faced shareholders’ ire on delay in divestments and mergers.

In the last financial year, the fund house saw its profit after tax at Rs 144 crore compared to Rs 79.4 crore in FY20. Typically, deals in MFs take place between 5-7 per cent of the AUM. In many cases, valuations can increase if the fund house has a good amount of equity assets.

“The investors presentation of IDFC Limited shows that total income of IDFC AMC stood at Rs 108.4 crore for Q3FY22 as against Rs 100.7 crore in Q3FY21, a growth of 7.6 per cent. While profit after tax surged by 12.8 per cent to Rs 46.1 crore in the third quarter of last fiscal compared to Rs 40.8 crore in Q3FY21.”

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