Kerala-based Muthoot Group is in talks with private equity (PE) investors to sell a 10 per cent stake.
“This move is not to raise capital for the group, but after years of being run as a privately-held family conglomerate, we felt this was the right time to do away with the ‘family-owned business’ tag,” George Alexander Muthoot, managing director, Muthoot Group told Hindustan Times.
The move is also as a precursor to a public issue in the future. “We are looking at going public in the next two to three years,” Muthoot said even as he refused to divulge the size of such an issue or the investment that the private equity investor would bring in. The group currently has a turnover of Rs 20,000 crore and is looking to increase this to Rs 50,000 crore by 2012.
“We are negotiating with a few interested investors right now and will zero in on the person who meets with our requirements and expectations,” he said.
The group, whose flagship company Muthoot Finance, a non-banking financial company that provides loans against gold is looking at expanding its presence beyond the Southern region.
“We are already present across 20 states, but two-thirds of our branches are in South India. We are now looking at aggressively expanding into newer regions in our bid to take the number of our branches to 1,050,” said Muthoot adding that 50 per cent of their branches were in urban and semi-urban areas.
{{/usCountry}}“We are already present across 20 states, but two-thirds of our branches are in South India. We are now looking at aggressively expanding into newer regions in our bid to take the number of our branches to 1,050,” said Muthoot adding that 50 per cent of their branches were in urban and semi-urban areas.
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