Partners Group has completed its exit from Aavas Financiers, selling its remaining stake in the Indian affordable housing lender to CVC Capital Partners. The deal concludes a highly successful investment cycle for Partners Group and delivers strong returns to its clients.

The global private markets firm first invested in Aavas in 2016 with the aim of building India’s first private equity-controlled housing finance company. It listed Aavas on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India in 2018, progressively reducing its stake since then.

Under Partners Group’s ownership, Aavas underwent significant transformation. Key value creation initiatives included digitising operations, expanding its product offering, accelerating branch openings, and strengthening the management team. These changes helped the company navigate major macroeconomic disruptions, including demonetisation, a liquidity crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

From FY2016 to FY2025, Aavas grew its assets under management more than twelvefold to over INR 204bn, while net income rose approximately eighteenfold to INR 5.7bn. Asset quality also improved by over 165 basis points to 3.4% of loans past due.

“This exit represents a textbook example of transformational value creation in the Indian financial services sector,” said Sandeep Tandon, Chairperson of Aavas. “Despite navigating multiple challenges, Partners Group’s ownership helped position Aavas as a market leader in affordable housing finance.”

Aavas focuses on lending to underserved and unbanked borrowers, with an average loan size of around $11,000. It serves low- and middle-income salaried and self-employed individuals across 397 branches in 14 Indian states and union territories.

“We would like to express our gratitude to Partners Group for their invaluable support,” said Sachinder Bhinder, CEO of Aavas. “We are well-placed to capture the large growth opportunity in the affordable housing and MSME finance segments.”

Manas Tandon, Partner and Head of Private Equity Goods & Products at Partners Group, added: “We are proud to have built an institution with a long-term mindset, which is creating a real impact on the ground by helping customers achieve their aspirations.”

This is Partners Group’s second major exit in India in the last year, following the IPO and stake sale of Vishal Mega Mart. To date, the firm has invested $2.3bn in India and manages $78bn in global private equity assets.

If you think we missed any important news, please do not hesitate to contact us at news@pe-insights.com.

Can`t stop reading? Read more.