Manappuram Finance has received the Reserve Bank of India’s final approval for Bain Capital to acquire joint control and up to 41.66 percent stake in the Kerala-based non-banking financial company, marking one of the largest private equity bets in India’s gold loan space.
The approval from Reserve Bank of India clears the way for Bain Capital’s ₹4,385 crore investment through its affiliates BC Asia Investments XXV and BC Asia Investments XIV.
Under the deal structure announced in March 2025:
Bain initially committed to acquire an 18 percent stake at ₹236 per share.
The transaction triggered a mandatory open offer to purchase an additional 26 percent from public shareholders at the same price.
Post-investment, Bain’s stake will range between 18 percent and 41.7 percent on a fully diluted basis, including shares arising from warrant conversion.
The existing promoters will hold around 28.9 percent on a fully diluted basis.
With RBI’s final clearance, Bain Capital will be classified as a promoter and will jointly control Manappuram along with the founding promoters.
Headquartered in Valapad, Thrissur, Manappuram Finance is one of India’s largest gold loan-focused NBFCs, with a strong footprint across Kerala and southern India. The company has, over the years, diversified into microfinance, vehicle finance, housing finance and SME lending, reducing its dependence on gold loans.
The fresh capital is expected to:
Strengthen Tier-I capital and overall capital adequacy
Support expansion beyond its traditional Kerala stronghold
Deepen digital lending and analytics-led underwriting
Enhance governance and risk management frameworks
For Kerala’s financial ecosystem, the entry of a global private equity major into a home-grown NBFC signals renewed investor confidence in the state’s financial services sector.
As part of the transaction agreements, the board will be reconstituted to include nominee directors from Bain Capital. The move is expected to bring global governance practices, sharper capital allocation discipline and strategic oversight.
V P Nandakumar, MD and CEO of Manappuram Finance, said the partnership would help accelerate growth in core segments, invest further in technology and build a professionally managed, future-ready financial services company.
The investment comes at a time when gold loan NBFCs are witnessing intense competition from banks and fintech lenders. With gold prices remaining elevated and credit demand steady in semi-urban and rural markets, well-capitalised players are likely to gain market share.
Bain Capital’s entry could also intensify consolidation trends in the sector, as scale, funding access and technology investments become critical differentiators.
For Manappuram Finance, the RBI nod marks a strategic inflection point — from a promoter-driven Kerala NBFC to a globally backed, jointly controlled financial services platform with national ambitions.