Dewan Housing Finance sinks to over five-year low

Shares in India’s Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd plunged on Monday to their lowest in over five years as claims of financial mismanagement and broader sectoral woes continue to plague the home loan provider.

Investigative media outlet Cobrapost had alleged last week that loans from Indian state banks were diverted by Dewan to shell companies, including those linked to its controlling shareholders. Dewan has, however, denied lending to shell companies and said it had not received any communication from the government in relation to an investigation.

Separately, Dewan said on Saturday it would sell a 9.15 percent stake in housing finance firm Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd to private equity funds managed by Blackstone Group LP. Wadhawan Global Capital will also sell its 70 percent stake in Aadhar Housing to Blackstone.

Dewan’s shares fell as much as 13 percent to 96.8 rupees on Monday, their lowest since Dec. 23, 2013. They were last down 5.8 percent at 104.90 rupees as of 0400 GMT.