Warburg Pincus acquires controlling stake in Vistaar Finance, appoints Avijit Saha as CEO

Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has acquired a controlling stake in Vistaar Finance, a non-banking financial company (NBFC) that specialises in lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India.

As part of the transaction, Avijit Saha—an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in retail, rural, digital banking, and SME credit—will join Vistaar Finance as the CEO. He previously worked at ICICI Bank, where he served as the Head of Rural and Inclusive Banking and President of ICICI Foundation.

Besides his role as the CEO, Saha will co-invest in the company in partnership with Warburg Pincus.

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Vistaar Finance operates in 12 states, catering to about 40,000 customers. With a workforce of over 2,500 employees, the company manages an asset under management (AUM) portfolio of about Rs 3,150 crore as of March 2023. Following the transaction, the company claims a net worth of around Rs 1,210 crore and capital adequacy of 37%.

The company specialises in offering fully secured lending solutions across various ticket size categories, including business and housing loans. It primarily focuses on serving small businesses, including shops, small manufacturing units, power looms, kirana/general shops, and home-based industries, which often lack access to organised funding options to support their growth.

Warburg Pincus LLC is a growth investor with more than $80 billion in AUM and a portfolio of over 250 companies across sectors and geographies.

Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and two real estate funds, having invested more than $109 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries.