INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: US investors led by the $1.7 trillion Capital Group, billionaire investor George Soros, $2.4 trillion Fidelity Group and
alternative investment company Highbridge Capital Management have moped-up American Depository Receipts (ADRs) issued by HDFC Bank in a deal
that closed early this morning, two people familiar with the deal said.
Demand for the local qualified institutional placement (QIP) was
also strong with the bank going beyond its Rs 2000 crore base amount noting the strong demand from local mutual funds and insurance
companies, these people said.
The ADR were priced at a premium over its trading price on Monday at $109.65 per script higher than the $107
the ADRs were trading at late on Monday evening
In the US Capital Group anchored the sale with a $700 million check
Funds manged by George Soros, Fidelity and Highbridge Capital also put in money
Investors had to up their bidding amounts to be assured of an allotment because demand was strong, though the pricing was at a 10% premium
The share sale which kicked off last evening ended after the Japanese markets opened earlier today
The bank had set out to raise a total of Rs 15,500 crore and with Rs 2800 crore raised from local investors the remaining Rs 12,700 crore is
The bank has chosen to retain more than the base amount which has given it headroom for the ADR issue as well
deal.
The bank has now raised a total of Rs 24,000 crore including Rs 8,500 crore raised last week by issuing over 3.9 crore shares on
preferential basis to its parent HDFC
This capital is likely to last the bank for the next three years.
A dozen banks had lined up to help the bank for the issue
Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse were the global lead managers while Nomura, Goldman Sachs, UBS
and BNP Paribas were the joint book runners
