IHC secures Sammaan foothold

Abu Dhabi-based IHC said on Tuesday it has obtained all regulatory approvals to acquire about 41.5 per cent of Sammaan Capital on a fully diluted basis in a transaction valued at about $1 billion, marking one of the biggest foreign bets on India’s non-bank lending sector and handing the Gulf investor a stronger position in a market where demand for housing finance and retail credit continues to expand.

The deal is being carried out in stages. IHC said about 26.9 per cent has already been acquired, with the remaining portion to be picked up through share warrants over 18 months, while a mandatory tender offer will also be launched for as much as 26 per cent of the enlarged share capital from public shareholders under securities rules. Once the process is completed, IHC is set to be classified as a promoter of Sammaan Capital, with the right to appoint a majority of the board and shape the company’s strategic direction.

Sammaan Capital, formerly Indiabulls Housing Finance, has been repositioning itself as a broader non-banking financial company after years of being identified mainly with mortgage lending. The company is listed in Mumbai and, according to the deal announcement, operates through 220 branches across more than 150 towns and cities with over 4,430 employees. That footprint helps explain why the transaction is being watched beyond the headline number: it gives IHC a platform inside one of Asia’s largest consumer credit markets at a time when cross-border investment in India’s financial sector remains selective and closely scrutinised.

The regulatory path has been gradual. Competition clearance was granted earlier after the Competition Commission of India approved the proposed acquisition by Avenir Investment RSC, IHC’s affiliate. Indian media also reported that the Reserve Bank of India had cleared the controlling stake purchase, an essential step for any foreign-backed transaction involving a large non-bank lender. Those approvals came after Sammaan’s shareholders had backed the capital raise structure tied to the investment plan first outlined in October last year.

There is also a notable shift in the ownership arithmetic. When the transaction was first outlined in October 2025, reports described the planned holding at roughly 43 to 43.5 per cent. Tuesday’s statement used 41.5 per cent on a fully diluted basis, suggesting the stake calculation now reflects the final structure after dilution effects and staging. Indian outlets covering the latest development said the first tranche alone has already delivered thousands of crores of fresh capital to Sammaan, strengthening its balance sheet at a moment when lenders are under pressure to manage growth, margins and asset quality with greater discipline.

For IHC, the investment fits a broader push into financial services. Reuters reported earlier this year that the group was setting up a new international financial services holding company expected to oversee more than 870 billion dirhams in assets under management. Reuters also reported this month that Judan Financial, a newly formed IHC subsidiary, had acquired a controlling stake in Alpha Wave as part of that expansion. Sammaan Capital is now being folded into that same financial services build-out, indicating that IHC is not treating the India transaction as a passive minority holding but as part of a larger capital allocation strategy spanning asset management, lending and financial platforms.

For Sammaan, the attraction is capital, credibility and room to accelerate expansion. In interviews after the transaction was first agreed, chief executive Gagan Banga said the lender intended to intensify its push into affordable housing finance and target ₹1 trillion in assets under management by FY2027, supported by branch additions in smaller cities and suburban markets. That strategy is closely aligned with the structural demand story in India, where formal credit penetration remains uneven and home ownership financing is still seen as a long-run growth segment despite competition from banks and pressure on funding costs.