Shares of Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd plunged 5 per cent in Thursday’s trade after the housing finance company (HFC) denied a media report that suggested financial services firm Cholamandalam was eyeing a majority stake in it. In a filing to BSE, the HFC said it was not part of any such negotiations/events as mentioned in the news report. Cholamandalam Investment also denied the report saying it had not expressed any interest in the past or present in acquiring Aptus Value Housing Finance India.
CNBC-TV18 had earlier suggested that talks with Cholamandalam Investment began after Aptus Promoter and Managing Director M Anandan failed to pick a successor in the family to run the business.
Following the clarification, Aptus Value Housing Finance India fell 5.04 per cent to hit a low of Rs 250.45 on BSE. Shares of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, on the other hand, were up 0.64 per cent at Rs 772.65.
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company trades at 3.4 times book value and 17 times FY2025E earnings. Aptus, on the other hand, trades at a lower multiple of 2.8 times FY2025 book value. On P/E basis, Aptus trades at 20 times FY2025 earnings, a premium in PER terms over Cholamandalam Investment.
On Wednesday, Kotak Institutional Equities suggested that Aptus would have been a good fit for Chola in many ways. It suggested that while Aptus brings in a high-yield housing/MSME lending business, near-term profitability would have been marginally diluted for Chola due to Aptus’ current lower capitalisation levels.
“We would also like to inform you that there is no information /announcement which may have a bearing on the price / volume behaviour in the securities of the company,” Aptus Value said.
Aptus Value Housing Finance said when there is any material development with respect to the
affairs of the company, the stock exchanges will be kept advised, pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
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