Warburg Pincus acquires controlling stake in MSME-lender Vistaar Finance

Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus today announced the acquisition of the controlling stake at the MSME-lender NBFC firm Vistaar Finance for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the transaction, Avijit Saha—an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in retail, rural, digital banking, and SME credit—will join Vistaar Finance as the CEO. He previously worked at ICICI Bank, where he served as the Head of Rural and Inclusive Banking and President of ICICI Foundation.

The company specialises in offering fully secured lending solutions across various ticket size categories, including business and housing loans. The company primarily focuses on serving small businesses, including shops, small manufacturing units, power looms, kirana/general shops, and home-based industries, which often lack access to organised funding options to support their growth.

Vistaar Finance operates in 12 states, catering to about 40,000 customers. With a workforce of over 2,500 employees, the company manages an asset under management (AUM) portfolio of about Rs 3,150 crore as of March 2023. Following the transaction, the company claims a net worth of around Rs 1,210 crore and capital adequacy of 37%.

“India is on course to becoming a $5 trillion economy over the next few years with the MSME sector playing a key role in achieving this goal. Warburg Pincus sees a significant opportunity in this space. Avijit has a long and successful track record in areas of rural, retail banking and SME credit. He also brings great strengths in building and scaling different business models, and we are excited to partner with Avijit in the further build-out of the Vistaar platform," Narendra Ostawal, managing director, Warburg Pincus said.

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