Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire 74.9% stake in Fullerton India Credit

Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc on Tuesday said it will acquire a 74.9 per cent stake in Fullerton India Credit Company Limited.
 
In a release, the Japanese group said it has reached an agreement with Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte. Ltd (FFH) to purchase a 74.9 per cent equity stake in Fullerton India, subject to regulatory approval.
 
The Indian non-banking financial company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FFH, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
 
Sumitomo Mitsui said it will eventually acquire 100 per cent stake in Fullerton India. However, it didn't disclose the financial details of the deal.
 
Quoting sources, news agency Bloomberg said Sumitomo Mitsui would pay about $2 billion for the stake in Fullerton India.

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Sumitomo Mitsui has been striving to expand its franchise and strengthen its digital banking capabilities in Asia in accordance with its medium-term business plan covering the three-year period starting FY2020.
 
"To achieve this goal, in addition to its continuous efforts to solidify Indonesia's business platform, we have also considered expanding our franchise in other Asian countries through inorganic means," the Japanese company said.
 
Fullerton India has a strong pan-India distribution network with more than 650 branches and offers unsecured loans and loans against property to mainly small and medium enterprises, the self-employed, and mass market customers. The Mumbai-based company owns different brands for its four segments -- urban, rural, digital, and housing finance -- and offers services that meet the needs of each segment.
 
"Through this investment, Sumitomo Mitsui will gain a retail finance platform in India, which is essential for the expansion of its Asia franchise, and will strive to contribute to further develop India's financial industry as a whole," the release said.

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