Credila Financial Services files draft IPO papers with SEBI, aims to raise ₹5,000 crore

Student loans provider Credila Financial Services Ltd, earlier known as HDFC Credila Financial Services Ltd, has filed its draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO) with India’s markets regulator.

Credila filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday, December 27, through a confidential pre-filing route. Filing the draft papers through this method allows the company to withhold public disclosure of details mentioned in the DRHP.

In a notice published in newspapers, Credila said, “The company has filed the pre-filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, BSE, and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in relating to the proposed initial public offering of its equity shares bearing face value of ₹10 each on the mainboard of the stock exchanges.”

According to media reports, the company is looking to raise at least ₹5,000 crore through the IPO, which may hit the market around March-April 2025.

Notably, the DRHP has been filed after the board of directors of the company approved raising funds through an IPO at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on December 26, Thursday, through a video conference. The board also approved modification of its Employees Stock Option Plan-2022.

About Credila Financial Services

Credila Financial Services is a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-registered non-banking financial company (NBFC) that is primarily engaged in the business of providing retail education loans. Credila says on its website that it has funded more than 178,000 Indian students across over 4,600 universities in over 64 countries so far.

Incorporated in 2006 as HDFC Credila, the company recently underwent a change of control after RBI directed HDFC Bank to reduce its shareholding in the company to less than 10% after the merger of HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank.

In June 2023, private equity (PE) consortium of Swedish investment giant EQT and ChrysCapital bought HDFC Credila from the HDFC Group for ₹9,060 crore.

As of March 2024, EQT held 72.01% stake and ChrysCapital owned 18% in Credila Financial Services, while HDFC Bank retained a 9.99% stake in the company.

During FY 2023-24, the company registered total income of ₹2,771 crore and a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹528.8 crore.