US equity fund buys 33.3 % in Indiabulls Credit Services Ltd

03 January 2005

Mumbai: Faralon Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity fund, and its affiliates have acquired 33.3 per cent stake for Rs87.6 crore in Indiabulls Credit Services Ltd, the recently formed subsidiary of broking firm, Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd.

Farallon Capital is a multi-strategy investment fund with over $12 billion in assets under management, according to an Indiabulls press communique.

With the new capital infusion from Farallon, Indiabulls Credit Services will have a capital base of over Rs130 crore. The funding by Farallon — which already has an equity stake in the parent company — will help Indiabulls Credit Services expand its business.

The Indiabulls subsidiary, which was set up in November, is focused on the consumer finance market and will offer personal loans under the `Easy Money' branding. It plans to open retail outlets in number of cities over the next year, said a director of the company.

It will use the fresh funding for expanding consumer finance business, a sector registering faster growth.

"Indiabulls is well positioned to benefit from the explosive growth of consumer finance market," said Sameer Gehlaut, CEO, Indiabulls.