Centrum MicroCredit (CML), the microfinance arm of financial services major Centrum Group, has acquired the business operations of New Delhi-based Altura Financial Services through a slump sale.

According to the agreement, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, Centrum MicroCredit will acquire the entire portfolio, branch network and retain all its employees. Altura is a microfinance company with a loan portfolio of ₹90 crore, servicing more than 45,000 customers across 48 branches in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh with 225 employees, the company said in a statement. “Financial inclusion is a key focus area for us. This acquisition adds to our vision of making a positive, social and economic impact in the lives of low-income households by providing microcredit and other relevant financial services,” said Centrum MicroCredit Chairman Ranjan Ghosh.

“Altura has a high-quality loan portfolio and gives us ready access to four new States, helping us to diversify our geographic operations to nine States. This acquisition also supports us to expand our offering in terms of tenure, repayment model, and end use of loans,” he added.

Post the acquisition of Altura Financial Services, CML will have a loan portfolio of around ₹400 crore across 126 branches.

“We believe that Centrum MicroCredit’s mission to provide low-income households with microcredit and other financial services will ensure that the customers are well serviced by Centrum Microcredit,” said Daksha Niranjan Shah, MD, Altura Financial Services.

Centrum commenced its microfinance business in November 2017 with the acquisition of FirstRand Bank India’s ₹110-crore microfinance portfolio.

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