This investment marks Siguler Guff's ongoing commitment to identifying and investing in high-growth opportunities across the Indian public and private markets landscape.
Spandana Sphoorty is a leading rural-focused NBFC-MFI with a pan-India presence offering primarily income generation loans under the joint liability group model, predominantly to women. As of March 2024, Spandana’s AUM stood at about Rs 11,970 crores.
Aviral Jain, Managing Director and Head of India at Siguler Guff, said, "Spandana stands overlooked amongst India’s publicly traded lending institutions, with an incredibly strong management team who have built a track record of continued execution - delivering impressive AUM growth while expanding return on assets from 1.6% to 4.5% over the last two fiscal years. Our investment in Spandana confirms our belief in the Company’s untapped growth potential and our anticipation of its continued upward trajectory.”
Shaun Khubchandani, Partner and Co-Head of Emerging Markets at Siguler Guff, highlighted what made Spandana a compelling addition to the Firm’s emerging markets portfolio. "Management has meticulously executed towards their Vision 2025 targets, delivering sustained growth while re-building the organization’s reputation around risk management. The Company’s technology enabled disbursement process, and their goal of building a weekly collections franchise gives us confidence that Spandana is well positioned to deliver sustainable growth in the coming years.”
Speaking to India’s growing place in Siguler Guff’s investment outlook Mr. Khubchandani added, “We are excited about deepening our commitment to India, a cornerstone of the Firm’s investment strategy in the emerging markets. Investments like Spandana Sphoorty align with our long-term vision to back businesses that are not only leaders in their respective domains but also contribute significantly to India's growth narrative."
Siguler Guff has been active across India’s financial sector previously with investments in City Union Bank, Manappuram Finance, and Repco Home Finance. The Firm’s private company investments in India include consumption-oriented businesses such as affordable fashion retailer Baazar Kolkata, domestic cardiovascular medical devices platform Relisys, South India-focused consumer electricals retailer Luker, Gujarat-based corporate hospital chain Sterling Hospitals, and homegrown social media and news platform Verse Innovation.
