Lok Capital ups stake in Ujjivan MFI, Bellwether exits

Bellwether, which invested in the MFI in 2005, reaped returns of around 24% from the deal, according to sources cited by The Business Standard.

Private charity the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which holds about 6% of the Bangalore-based company, is also said to be planning to offload its shares to a social investor by the end of the month.

"Bellwether was in Ujjivan since the beginning. Then, it came in as a domestic investor. However, due to subsequent changes in rules, it turned a foreign investor. This was one of the reasons for the exit," explained Samit Ghosh, founder and managing director of Ujjivan.

As well as Lok, the MFI counts Sequoia Capital, Unitus Equity Fund, India Financial Inclusion Fund, Elevar Equity, the Netherlands Development Finance Company and Wolfensohn Capital Partners among its investors.

It is also in negotiations to raise INR450 million ($8 million) from the International Finance Corporation, the private sector investment arm of the World Bank. The prospective investment is intended to help the institution meet regulatory capital requirements over the next 3-5 years.

Ujjivan has a borrower base of about 1.1 million, to which it provides around $140 million in debt.

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• Topics
• Financials
• South Asia
• Expansion
• Growth capital
• Financial Services
• India
• Sequoia Capital
• Wolfensohn India Advisors