Nexus Venture Partners Divests Stake in India Shelter Finance Corp

Nexus Venture Partners divested a 5.97% stake in India Shelter Finance Corporation for Rs 482 crore through open market transactions. Financial services firms Goldman Sachs and SBI Life Insurance increased their stakes in the company. Shares of India Shelter Finance Corp closed at Rs 730 apiece, a 7.81% drop.

Venture capital firm Nexus Venture Partners divested a 5.97 per cent stake in India Shelter Finance Corporation for Rs 482 crore through open market transactions on Monday.

India Shelter Finance Corporation, based in Gurugram, primarily serves first-time home loan buyers in lower- and middle-income groups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India. Nexus Venture Partners, via affiliates Nexus Ventures III and Nexus Opportunity Fund II Ltd, sold 64 lakh shares or a 5.97 per cent stake in India Shelter Finance Corporation through two bulk deals on the BSE.

The shares were offloaded in the price range of Rs 752.35-753.27 apiece, bringing the transaction total to Rs 481.95 crore. This sale has reduced Nexus Ventures Partners' shareholding in the company from 21.32 per cent to 15.35 per cent.

Simultaneously, Goldman Sachs and SBI Life Insurance raised their stakes in the housing finance firm by acquiring a total of 1.31 per cent stake for Rs 106.26 crore. Goldman Sachs picked up 7.42 lakh shares, equivalent to a 0.69 per cent stake, and SBI Life Insurance procured 6.70 lakh units, or 0.62 per cent stake, at an average price of Rs 752.35 each, making the deal worth Rs 106.26 crore.

This investment increased Goldman Sachs' stake to 1.78 per cent and SBI Life Insurance's to 2.56 per cent. Additionally, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance purchased 7.70 lakh shares or a 0.72 per cent stake at Rs 752.35 per piece, totaling Rs 57.93 crore. The details of other buyers remain unclear.

Shares of India Shelter Finance Corporation fell by 7.81 per cent, closing at Rs 730 on the BSE. Nexus Venture Partners first invested in India Shelter in 2012 and built a 28.2 per cent stake through various funding rounds.

(With inputs from agencies.)