Warburg-backed Avanse is said to mull IPO delay on US visa rules

Avanse Financial Services Ltd., an Indian education financing provider backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, is considering delaying its initial public offering as demand for loans slows due to stricter US visa rules, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Mumbai-based company might wait for the overseas loan market to improve before resuming work on the potential share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decision has been made, the people said.

A representative for Avanse didn’t respond to requests seeking comment, while Warburg Pincus declined to comment.

Avanse provides financing to students at more than 1,650 educational institutions in about 50 countries, offering customized loans for Indians pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate programs, according to its website.

Almost 57% of the company’s international loan portfolio was to students who chose to study in the US as of the end of March 2024, according to the draft prospectus filed with the regulator.

The Trump administration’s aggressive tightening of immigration policies and policing has led to a plunge in student arrivals to the US, with numbers from India hit particularly hard — dropping 46% in July from a year earlier, data from the International Trade Administration show. Total arrivals on student visas last month decreased 28% to just under 79,000.Avanse had planned to raise about 10 billion rupees ($115 million) in an IPO, while existing investors including Warburg Pincus, Kedaara Capital and International Finance Corp. planned to sell shares worth about 25 billion rupees, company filings show. Avanse submitted draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in July 2024 and got approval in October.IFC first invested in Avanse in 2013, while Warburg Pincus bought a 80% stake from Wadhawan Global Capital in 2019. Kedaara invested in 2023.On Thursday, Avanse said it secured a multi-currency syndicated loan equivalent to $200 million, which it said would help to diversify funding sources and strengthen ties with domestic and global lenders.