Indian financial institution
Capital First Ltd. was an Indian non-bank financial institution providing debt financing to small entrepreneurs, MSMEs and consumers. In December 2018, it was merged into IDFC Bank to form IDFC First Bank. The company was listed on the NSE and BSE prior to the merger.[6][7][8]
History
Founded in 2005 as a part of Future Group, the company became Future Capital Holdings in December 2006.[1] The company listed on the Indian stock exchanges in January 2008 following an initial public offering.[9] Between 2008 and 2010, the company launched businesses including real estate development financing, corporate credit, private equity, asset management, foreign exchange, retail broking, mall management, wealth management and property services.[10]
In 2010, V. Vaidyanathan, then MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life, was appointed as the vice-chairman and MD of Future Capital Holdings. Vaidyanathan obtained a 10% stake in the company as part of the deal.[11][12] The company later exited legacy businesses of forex, wealth, and broking, and reduced wholesale lending sharply.[13]
In 2012, Warburg Pincus agreed to buy a majority stake in the company for ₹8.10 billion (US$151.58 million), including ₹1 billion by way of preferential allotment. An open offer was made to the public in line with SEBI guidelines. The board was reconstituted and the company was renamed Capital First.[14][15]
In 2013–14, the company received the Housing Finance Company (HFC) License from the National Housing Bank (NHB) for its wholly-owned subsidiary Capital First Home Finance Limited. Capital First also launched new products like SME business loans, personal loans, and affordable housing, and scaled up the existing businesses.
Between 2014 and 2017, Capital First raised funding from PE players and Qualified Institutional Placements (QIP).[16][17] Financial institutions like Government Pension Fund Global (Norway), Jupiter Asset Management, Ashburton Limited, DNB Asset Management (Norway), Nomura Asset Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management invested in Capital First during this phase through secondary market, becoming shareholders of the company.[18][19][20]
On January 13, 2018, IDFC Bank and Capital First announced a merger in a joint press release. IDFC Bank issued 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First, with Vaidyanathan taking over as the MD and CEO of the combined bank. The merger completed in December 2018.[21][22]
References
