Education loan provider, Credila Financial Services, previously known as HDFC Credila Financial Services Ltd, has submitted documents to the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO) via the confidential pre-filing route. This approach enables the company to keep certain details of the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) undisclosed to the public for the time being.
In an official statement on Friday, Credila stated that it has "filed pre-draft red herring prospectus with the SEBI and stock exchanges ... in relation to the proposed initial public offering of its equity shares on the main board.”
This development comes at the time of a major shift in the company's ownership structure during the financial year that ended on March 31, 2024.
A private equity consortium consisting of EQT and ChrysCapital acquired a 90.01 per cent stake in Credila for Rs 9,060 crore, which included a fresh equity infusion of Rs 2,003.61 crore. Of this total, Rs 700 crore was invested in June 2023 by the previous owner, HDFC Ltd, while the remaining Rs 1,303.61 crore was contributed in March 2024 by entities from EQT and ChrysCapital.
The private equity consortium, consisting of EQT and ChrysCapital, valued Credila at a pre-money valuation of Rs 10,350 crore. As of March 31, 2024, EQT holds a 72.01 per cent stake, ChrysCapital owns 18 per cent, and HDFC Bank retains a 9.99 per cent share.
This change in ownership followed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directive for HDFC Bank to reduce its stake in Credila to below 10 per cent after the merger of HDFC Ltd. with HDFC Bank.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Credila experienced robust growth, with total income soaring to Rs 2,771.04 crore from Rs 1,352.18 crore in the previous year. Its profit after tax nearly doubled, rising to Rs 528.84 crore from Rs 275.92 crore. Since its founding, Credila has provided education loans to over 1.24 lakh students.