WhiteOak Capital plans D-Street foray with Rs 1,500 crore IPO
WhiteOak Capital, which manages about $13 billion in assets, could be targeting a ₹9,000 crore valuation on listing, as per people aware of the matter. It was founded by Khemka in 2017 after he quit Goldman Sachs. WhiteOak Capital’s proposed IPO comes as a growing number of alternative investment managers tap the public markets to raise capital.
Gaja Alternative Asset Management, which operates as Gaja Capital, listed on the stock exchanges on August 26, becoming the first private equity investor in India to go public. Its IPO raised ₹550 crore, including a ₹450 crore fresh issue Abakkus Asset Manager, founded by stock market investor Sunil Singhania, also filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on September 22 for an IPO that will entirely comprise an offer-for-sale by its promoter.
Read more: NSE IPO shares all set to list: GMP signals 2% listing gain ahead of market debut
Khemka confirmed WhiteOak had a public listing plan in an emailed response to ET’s queries. “Our unique firm is being built and managed by outstanding professionals. In the long- term interest of attracting and retaining talent to perpetualise its position as India’s pioneering multinational asset manager, the firm does envisage going public at some point,” he said.
“The firm continues to have healthy profitability, and while an IPO is on the strategic agenda, there are no definite timelines,” he said. WhiteOak Capital houses funds domiciled both in India and overseas. These funds are investors in Indian equities but also have some emerging markets exposure.
Read more: Chasing IPO debut highs? All 10 listing multibaggers of last 2 years bleed negative returnsKhemka ran a $25-billion portfolio of listed US equities as a fund manager for Goldman Sachs before he relocated to India in 2006 to start its investment management business for emerging markets and India. When he left, he had built up a $5 billion portfolio of investments for the firm.
IPO Preparations
The company’s preparations for an initial public offering are said to have started a few months ago.
Ministry of corporate affairs records show that WhiteOak Capital had passed board resolutions in December last year to increase authorised share capital by tenfold. Its authorised share capital increased to ₹1,275 crore from ₹275 crore. A few months prior to that, an employee stock option pool was also created.
