After Adani and JSW Steel, GQG Partners acquires stake in IDFC First Bank

Rajiv Jain-led GQG Partners, which recently acquired an additional stake in Adani Group, picked up a 2.58% stake in IDFC First Bank via bulk deals on Friday. The U.S.-based boutique asset management firm acquired 171,602,498 shares of the private lender at ₹89 apiece, amounting to ₹1,527 crore, as per exchange data. On Friday, IDFC First Bank shares ended marginally higher by 0.11% at ₹93.44 per share on the BSE.

The exchange data showed that Warburg Pincus affiliate Cloverdell Investment offloaded a 4.2% stake in the bank. At the end of the June quarter, Cloverdell owned 7.12% shares in IDFC First Bank.

As per the latest shareholding pattern available on the BSE, promoter entities own a 39.93% stake in the bank, while public shareholders hold the remaining 60.07% shares. Among the public shareholders, the central government holds a 3.94% stake in the lender, mutual funds (2.78%), and foreign portfolio investors (4.51%).

For the April-June quarter of FY24, IDFC First Bank posted a net consolidated profit of ₹765 crore, up 61% against ₹474 crore during the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. The net interest income of the bank rose 36% from ₹2,751 crore in Q1FY23, to ₹3,745 crore in Q1FY24. The net interest margin grew year-on-year from 5.77% in Q1FY23 to 6.3% in Q1FY24.

During the quarter under review, gross non-performing assets (GNPA) improved to 2.17% in Q1FY24 from 3.36% in Q1FY23 and 2.51% in Q4FY23. The net non-performing assets (NNPA) stood at 0.70% in June quarter of FY24, from 1.30% in the same period last year and 0.86% in the previous quarter.

GQG Partners, which made headline in April for buying stake in Adani Group companies after the Hindenburg report, recently acquired additional stake in billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate and also JSW Energy.

Last month, the Rajiv Jain-backed GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund purchased 1.2 crore shares in the power generation and transmission company via open market transactions. The shares were purchased at an average price of ₹345 apiece, aggregating to ₹411 crore.

Earlier in June, GQG Partners raised its shareholding in two Adani group companies by acquiring 1.6% in the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises and 2.2% in the renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy.  

In March this year, Jain, the co-founder and chairman of GQG Partners, acquired minority stakes in four of the listed Adani Group companies for ₹15,446 crore. Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, GQG Partners acquired stakes in Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ), Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), and Adani Transmission (ATL).

The investment by GQG was the first major capital infusion in Adani Group since Hindenburg Research’s critical report on the conglomerate came out on January 24, 2023. The report triggered a sell-off in group shares resulting in a huge market loss for most of the listed entities.

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