After stellar market debut, Bajaj Housing Finance becomes most valued housing finance firm

Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd became the most valued housing finance company in the country, following a blockbuster market debut on Monday where the stock more than doubled.

Shares of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd made a solid market debut and ended with a huge premium of nearly 136 per cent against the issue price of Rs 70.

The stock listed at Rs 150 on the BSE and NSE, reflecting a jump of 114.28 per cent from the issue price, in a much-awaited listing.

It zoomed 135.7 per cent to settle at Rs 164.99 -- its upper circuit limit -- on the BSE.

At the NSE, shares of the firm surged 135.71 per cent to settle at the upper circuit limit of Rs 165.

At the close of trade, the market capitalisation (mcap) of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd stood at Rs 1,37,406.09 crore.

Housing & Urban Development Corporation stood at the second position with a market valuation of Rs 49,476.96 crore, followed by LIC Housing Finance at Rs 37,434.54 crore, PNB Housing Finance (Rs 27,581.41 crore), Aadhar Housing Finance (Rs 20,045.16 crore), Aptus Value Housing Finance India (Rs 16,598.17 crore), AAVAS Financiers (Rs 14,278.33 crore), Can Fin Homes (Rs 11,983.87 crore), Sammaan Capital (Rs 11,773.23 crore) and Home First Finance Company India (Rs 10,602.99 crore).

Shares of rivals LIC Housing Finance dropped 5.92 per cent and HUDCO fell by 2.10 per cent.

The Rs 6,560-crore initial public offer of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd received 63.60 times subscription on September 11, the last day of bidding, amid overwhelming participation from institutional buyers.

The initial share sale had a price band for the offer at Rs 66-70 per share.

The IPO had a fresh issue of equity shares of up to Rs 3,560 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of equity shares worth Rs 3,000 crore by parent Bajaj Finance.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 97.84 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at a new record peak of 82,988.78. During the day, it jumped 293.4 points or 0.35 per cent to hit a fresh lifetime intra-day high of 83,184.34.

The NSE Nifty went up by 27.25 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 25,383.75. During the day, the benchmark gained 89.2 points or 0.35 per cent to hit a new intra-day record peak of 25,445.70.

The share sale was conducted to comply with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulations, which require upper-layer non-banking finance companies to be listed on stock exchanges by September 2025.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to augment the company's capital base to meet future capital requirements.

It is a non-deposit-taking housing finance company registered with the National Housing Bank in September 2015.

The firm offers financial solutions for purchasing and renovating residential and commercial properties.

It has been identified and categorised as an "upper layer" NBFC by the RBI, and its comprehensive mortgage products include home loans, loans against property, lease rental discounting and developer financing.