CHENNAI: Diversified industrial conglomerate The Sanmar Group has made its debut into financial services by acquiring a 43 per cent controlling stake for Rs 100 crore in Aham Housing Finance, leveraging the strong cash flows of its shipping business to foray into a high-growth lending segment where fresh licences are hard to come by.

Sanmar has invested Rs 100 crore through its group company, Sanmar Shipping Ltd, to acquire the controlling stake in the five-year-old Chennai-based affordable housing financier.

With this transaction, Aham becomes an associate company of the Sanmar Group under the Companies Act, while its founder-managing director Venkatesh Kannappan becomes the minority stakeholder.The acquisition route assumes significance as the National Housing Bank (NHB) has been selective in granting new housing finance company (HFC) licences, making greenfield entry into the business increasingly difficult.

As per an industry expert, buying into an existing regulated lender offers a faster path into the sector.

Existing investors, including Newgen Capital, which was among Aham's early institutional backers, continue to remain associated with the company.