The share price of Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd slid ₹15.70 (5.6 per cent) on rumours that Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company of the Murugappa group was trying to take it over.
Aptus’ share price, of ₹2 face value, closed at ₹264.80 on the NSE today. In a notification to the stock exchanges, Aptus said: “We hereby confirm that the company is not part of any such negotiations/events as mentioned in the news report.” It also said that there was “no information /announcement which may have a bearing on the price/volume behaviour in the securities of the Company.”
Aptus Value Housing’s Chairman and Managing Director, M Anandan, (who, incidentally, was once the Managing Director of Cholamandalam) told businessline today that “there is not an iota of truth” in any news about any company taking over Aptus.
Aptus’ promoters shareholding is 62.21 per cent, including 37 per cent held by a US-based private equity firm, WestBridge Capital. Anandan said that WestBridge is not selling its stake. “There is no sale of stake by anybody,” he said.
Asked about Aptus’ performance, Anandan said that the company was doing “very well” with a loan book of ₹6,500 crore and return on assets of 8 per cent.
For the first three quarters of the current financial year ending December 2022, Aptus reported net profit of ₹315 crore, exceeding the previous full year’s net profit of ₹308 crore.