Adani Capital Pvt. Ltd, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm of Adani Group focused on small and micro-entrepreneurs, has acquired Essel Finance’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loan business, Mint reported. Through the acquisition, Adani Capital has secured a loan book of around ₹145 crore, operating out of 10 cities, comprising approximately 1,100 customers and 40 employees. This is the second asset of debt-laden Subash Chandra group that Adani has acquired. In August 2019, Essel Group had announced its intention to sell 205 megawatts (MWs) of its operational solar energy assets to Adani Green Energy Ltd at an enterprise value of ₹1,300 crore. The lender, which primarily operates in western India, is aiming to gradually expand its geographic presence in central and east India. 

“We operate in similar segments, which is secured lending focused on income-generating borrowers. It was an opportunistic acquisition for us; in the next 6-12 months we are more focused on improvising processes, leveraging technology and on productivity improvements," he added.

Adani Finserve is engaged in the lending business through two companies—Adani Capital and Adani Housing Finance. The housing finance arm is only engaged in affordable home loans and does not lend to real estate builders for project construction.