Microfinance company Arohan Financial Services is planning to apply for a ₹1,400-crore initial public offering within a month, according to reports from The Economic Times. The Aavishkaar Group company would like to split the IPO between ₹600 crore of primary issue and ₹800 crore of offer for sale (OFS). Managing director Manoj Nambiar told ET that the company is planning to file the draft red herring prospectus soon, stating "The idea is to be ready with a valid ticket when things settle down. The year-end commentary is positive and the first quarter has started off well." The process to get approval takes about 3-4 months and then carries a 12-month validity to list.
According to The Economic Times, Arohan Financial Services has decided to file the DRHP based on its December 2025 financials and business numbers. The company's assets under management stood at ₹6,300 crore, with Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal together contributing about half. The gross non-performing assets ratio improved to 1.6% from 2.9% a year ago. The non-banking finance company-microfinance institution had in January announced a ₹1,500-crore IPO plan with an equal share of primary issue and OFS, but has scaled down the size following the Iran war which led to a steep fall in the stock market.
As reported by The Economic Times, the promoters Aavishkaar and Intellecap together are classified as the promoter group and they cumulatively own 14.2% stake at present. The promoters will not sell any shares through the IPO. Long-time investors such as Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Tano Capital are likely to sell shares through the OFS window. The company has been planning to go public since 2019 and had received the market regulator's go-ahead once in 2021, but stress in microfinance in quick succession over the past six years forced it to hold the plan.
According to The Economic Times, the microfinance sector is showing signs of recovery from severe asset quality stress seen over the past two years. The sector's total book size stood at ₹3.29 lakh crore at the end of February, up 2.5% over the previous month, reversing a prolonged phase of contraction. The market size stood at ₹4.43 lakh crore at the end of March 2024. The sector came under severe stress after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, and then again after 2024 when it was trying to break the shackles and grew at a rapid pace. Lenders' portfolio quality improved sequentially while the ageing bad loan ratio declined for the first time in the past 24 months.
