Jain Irrigation Systems announced that Sustainable Agro commercial Finance (SAFL) and subsidiary of the company, has successfully raised funds consisting of tier 1 and tier 2 capital aggregating Rs 1.12 billion in a mix of equity shares at premium (Rs 420 million) and long tenure debt (6 yrs) in form of 10% unsecured non convertible listed debentures (Rs 700 million) yesterday.

This has raised the tier 1 and tier 2 capital of the SAFL to Rs 2.08 billion. This fund raising will help SAFL to grow substantially in next few years, as it had no debt prior to the above transaction. SAFL has so far served over 15,000 farmers since its inception in 2012 and it continues to pursue its growth plans.

The investment has been made by Mandala Capital AG a UK based entity focused on agri business in South East Asia. Post the investment Mandala holds 20% of the capital of SAFL while JISL’s shareholding has come down to 49% as was originally planned at start of SAFL’s operations in 2012.

This will help the JISL to further grow its MIS and other product sales to small and marginal farmers in Maharashtra and adjoining states in next fiscal year. It would also help the company to improve its working capital cycle further.

Shares of the company gained Rs 1.15, or 2.93%, to trade at Rs 40.40. The total volume of shares traded was 5 at the BSE (10.02 a.m., Wednesday).