Aditya Puri, former MD and CEO of HDFC Bank, and US-based Carlyle Group are expected to be the lead investors in the proposed Rs 4000 crore capital raising plan by PNB Housing Finance. Post the fund raising, the new investors will become the promoters of the company in addition to the government-owned Punjab National Bank, which owns a little over 32% stake right now. Puri will be investing through his family investment vehicle Salisbury Investment. Other existing shareholders in the company like Ares SSG and General Atlantic will also participate in the fund raising. It is expected that Aditya Puri would be nominated to the board of the company by Carlyle in due course. Post the capital infusion, the capital adequacy ratio of the company as of 31 March will increase from 18.7% to over 28%. The key objective of the capital raise is to augment capital adequacy, reduce gearing and accelerate growth in retail segment, the company said.
