Avanse raises ₹1,000 crore in funding round led by Mubadala

Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial Services Ltd, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), has raised ₹1,000 crore in equity from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co and Avendus PE Investment Advisors, via its fund Avendus Future Leaders Fund II.

“The fund infusion will enable Avanse to strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving education financing segment by focusing on creating unique customer experiences and achieving sustained profitable growth,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Avanse Financial Services, an NBFC focused on education, offers loans to Indian students pursuing higher education both domestically and internationally. Additionally, it extends financial support to educational institutions in India for their expansion and operational funding requirements.

As of December 2023, the company’s assets under management (AUM) stood at ₹12,147 crore.

“The growth capital will enable us to strengthen our brand proposition, integrate digital solutions, and innovate to build more depth into our product range as we work towards delivering greater stakeholder value,” said Amit Gainda, managing director and CEO, Avanse Financial Services.

“The influx of capital will assist us in fulfilling a larger number of academic aspirations. Our customer-centric and result-oriented teams are equally passionate about empowering students towards upward mobility,” Gainda added.

Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt Ltd was the financial advisor to the company, while AZB & Partners represented Avanse Financial and Warburg Pincus as legal counsel. 

Khaitan & Co. and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel to Mubadala, and JSA was represented Avendus Future Leaders Fund II, the company said.

In addition to this investment, Mubadala has been active in diversifying its portfolio within Asia. It acquired an undisclosed portion of Manipal Health Enterprises earlier this year and has plans to significantly increase its investment in Asia by 2030, as told to Bloomberg in an interview.

Last year, Mubadala and the British Columbia Investment Management Corp, a Canadian pension fund, became anchor investors in Cube Highways Trust, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) in India. The Abu Dhabi fund along with BlackRock Real Assets also announced an investment of $525 million in Tata Power Renewables in May 2023.