Spark acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the Company and its shareholders on this transaction.
Spark is pleased to announce the successful closure of a ₹1,000 Mn equity round in Berar Finance Limited (“Berar Finance”, “Berar” or the “Company”) from Maj Invest Financial Inclusion Fund (“Maj Invest”) and Amicus Capital (“Amicus”).
The Company, one of the largest stand-alone two-wheeler lenders, has nearly doubled its loan book to ₹8.4 Bn since its first external fund raise in Feb-20. The company operates predominantly in rural and semi-urban geographies across west and central India and has historically been one of the most profitable lenders in this sector. The current fund raise reinforces investor conviction on Berar Finance’s superior execution capabilities and leadership among standalone two-wheeler financiers where many companies have found it difficult to build scale.
This is Spark’s sixth private equity fund raise in financial services in FY22, aggregating to USD 440 Mn. Spark continues to maintain its leadership in the financial services space having consummated 51 transactions aggregating ~USD 3.3 Bn.
Sandeep Jawanjal, Managing Director, Berar Finance remarked, “We have created a niche for ourselves in the two-wheeler financing space and we are excited to welcome onboard Maj Invest on our cap table. We are grateful to Amicus Capital and our lending partners for their continued support. We appreciate the efforts of the Spark team in this successful closure and look forward to partner with them as we establish our foothold in the two-wheeler financing space.”
Satish Narayan, Director – Investment Banking, Spark Financial Holdings remarked, “Sandeep and team have built a strong execution engine at Berar. Resilience of the business model has helped it grow 2x over the last two years with good asset quality and profitability, notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19. We are happy to have partnered with Berar in its growth journey and wish the team the very best in their journey ahead.”
Siva Vadivelazhagan, Principal – Maj Invest remarked, “Berar’s impact on financial inclusion while maintaining sectoral leadership in growth, profitability and asset quality is commendable and we are excited to partner with Berar team and Amicus team as the Company embarks on its next phase of growth. Special thanks to Spark team, who worked relentlessly to help us navigate the transaction and advocated for the best possible outcome at every point during the process. They led the transaction process with skill and insight, demonstrating significant transaction experience and commitment.”