Global players pick up stake in Shriram Group arm

Chennai, Dec 29: Global players Merrill Lynch, Chrys Capital and Cambridge Place of the United Kingdom have acquired ten per cent equity stake each in Shriram City Union Finance Limited, the retail financing arm of the Shriram Group.

Addressing a press conference here today, Shriram Group Chairman R Thyagarajan said Merrill Lynch through its arm Indopark Holdings, Chrys Capital through its arm Van Gogh and Cambridge Place had acquired 40 lakh equity shares each at a price of Rs 160 per share (face value of Rs 10) amounting to a total investment of Rs 192 crore.

The shareholders' approval for the new investment was obtained at the extraordinary general meeting held on December 18, he added.

Stating the company was in the process of exiting truck financing, he said the new investment would support vigorous growth in personal finance.

To a question, Mr Thyagarajan said the clientele base of Shriram Chit Fund was about 12 lakh in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Of them, five to six lakh were business borrowers and the potential loan offtake was about Rs 5,000 crore, he added.

The company also extended enterprise loans to first generation entrepreneurs, he added.

UNI