Mumbai: Veritas Finance Private Limited is delighted to announce an investment of INR 1,050 Crore from Multiples Private Equity  along with its co-investors including IFC. The deal comprises of a primary issuance of INR 400 Crore and provides a part exit to early investors, British International Investment  and Lok Capital. Avendus Future Leaders Fund also participated in the transaction and invested INR 150 Crore.

Veritas focuses on the large and underserved MSME financing market across semi-urban and rural geographies. Started in Tamil Nadu, the Company has now expanded across eight states and one union territory with 285+ branches and servicing 115,000+ customers with an AUM of INR 3,500 Crore+ as at March 31, 2023. The Company primarily provides small business loans secured against self-occupied residential property (SORP) of the borrowers with an average ticket size of INR 5 Lakh.

The founder, D. Arulmany, comes with 25+ years of business building experience across large franchises including Chola and Aptus Housing. Veritas has scaled up its AUM at a CAGR of 60% over the last 6 years and has built deep on-ground operating experience and market knowledge. The Company proposes to use the fresh capital to enter new markets and strengthen its new product lines, including affordable housing loans.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Veritas on this transaction.

Speaking on the occasion, D. Arulmany, MD & CEO of Veritas said, “Veritas is on a secular compounding journey, and we are excited to partner with an investor like Multiples who have admirable understanding of the financial services space. The fresh capital will provide significant runway for growth, help deepen our existing offerings and expand into the affordable housing space. We strongly believe this partnership will further catalyse our mission to serve the underserved.”

Nithya Easwaran, Managing Director, Multiples Alternate Asset Management said, “Veritas’ in-depth and nuanced understanding of micro-SME businesses across different geographies combined with strong systems and frameworks has enabled it to address a wide set of customers and build a large, diversified franchise. Arulmany, along with the top-notch management team has scaled the business while maintaining pristine quality. We are delighted to partner with him to build a market leading, distinctive financial institution.”

Ritesh Chandra, Managing Partner, Avendus Future Leaders Fund said, “Veritas, with its focus on easy credit for the massively underserved MSME segment coupled with its vast network of 285+ branches across India is set to occupy a leadership position in the MSME-NBFC sector. We are happy to join Veritas in their journey towards powering enterprise growth in India through financially inclusive lending solutions.”

Anshul Agarwal, Managing Director and Co-head, Consumer, Financial Institutions Group & Business Services Investment Banking, Avendus Capital added, “We are privileged to be associated with India’s leading MSME Lender. This partnership will further strengthen the Company’s position in the space as it continues to scale new heights in lending to the bottom of the pyramid.