L&T unit raises Rs 330 crore in pre-IPO share sale

Mumbai: Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro said its unit L&T Finance Holdings had raised Rs 330 crore ($75 million) through a share placement to US private equity fund Capital International, ahead of an initial public offering. [caption id=“attachment_38041” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“In March, L&T Finance had filed documents with the markets regulator for an up to Rs 1,750 crore ($392 million) IPO. Athar Hussain/Reuters”] [/caption] L&T Finance sold 60 million shares at Rs 55 each, its parent said on Thursday in a statement to the stock exchange. In March, L&T Finance had filed documents with the markets regulator for an up to Rs 1,750 crore ($392 million) IPO, of which it planned to raise Rs 400 crore through a pre-IPO placement. L&T Finance Holdings is the holding company for the financial services business of the group and operates through four units that manage the mutual fund, asset financing, infrastructure financing and working capital funding businesses. Capital International manages $3.7 billion under five emerging markets private equity funds. In 2010, Indian firms raised a total of $8.56 billion through IPOs – the highest since 2005, ThomsonReuters data showed, helped by a surge in foreign inflows from overseas investors seeking broader exposure to Asia’s third-largest economy. HSBC, Citigroup, JM Financial, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse are the arrangers to the L&T Finance offer. (Reuters)