Dvara KGFS Acquires Varam Capital

Dvara KGFS (formerly IFMR Rural Channels and Services), on Tuesday, announced the acquisition of Chennai-based micro finance institution (MFI) Varam Capital Private Limited for an undisclosed value.

Dvara KGFS, which operates in the non-banking financial company (NBFC) space, offers a range of financial products such as micro finance, rural savings, insurance, and bank account opening in rural areas. It has a presence in 33 districts with 221 branches spread across Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Odisha with a customer base of 8.50-lakh customers.

“This acquisition will give us fire power and capability to take us to the next level of growth,” said Samir Shah, Executive Vice-Chair and Group President, Dvara Trust.

Through this acquisition, Dvara KGFS will consolidate its presence in Tamil Nadu and also enter the Chhattisgarh market. Varam Capital, which has built data science architecture such analytics and credit score for customers, currently operates from 28 branches in 12 districts in Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh, and has a customer base of about 1.28-lakh customers.

“We are opening in Jharkhand shortly, and our presence in Odisha and Varam’s presence in Chhattisgarh, will help us consolidate our presence in the eastern region,” said Shah.

He also said the number of branches will increase from the present consolidated strength of 248 to 325 branches by March 2020, while the asset under management (AUM) from combined operations will increase from the current level ₹750 crore to ₹1,200 crore during the period. Post-consolidation, the number of employees will see an increase from the current strength of 1,400 to 1,900 by March 2020.

“In FY18-19 we had a revenue growth of 29 per cent over the previous year, and we are expecting a revenue growth of 37 per cent in FY19-20,” said Shah .

“Our priority is to build expertise to develop multi-product offering, focus on micro enterprise loan, affordable housing segments, and relook the entire jewel loan portfolio,” said Joby, CEO, Varam Capital.

On future investment plans, Shah said the company is in talks with multiple investors to raise about ₹100 crore to give a runaway for the next 2-3-year period.

Noting that the liquidity situation for MFIs is easing in the domestic market, Shah said the company will also explore options to tap rupee-denominated offshore lending in the future.