Hornbill, Dragon Funds, others eye KreditBee stake ahead of IPO
MUMBAI
: Investment firms including Hornbill Capital and Japan’s MUFG-backed Dragon Funds are considering taking a stake in credit startup KreditBee as part of a proposed $100-120 million fundraising ahead of the company’s planned initial public offering, three people familiar with the matter said.
The largely preliminary round will mark KreditBee’s first major capital raise since 2023 and comes at a time when a growing number of profitable fintechs are poised to capitalize on India’s vibrant public markets, offering potential exits to early investors.
“Bids are due towards the end of this month and at least 3-4 funds have expressed interest in the asset,” said one of the people cited above. “The round will be largely primary with a small secondary component that angel investors may consider selling,” a second person said, adding that the deal will likely close towards the end of this quarter.
Mint It first reported in September that the company had tapped Nomura and ICICI Securities to lead the private fundraising, ahead of plans to file IPO documents later this year.
Hornbill, Dragon Funds, KreditBee, Nomura and ICICI did not respond MintRequests for comment Monday.
Basis for IPO
KreditBee’s plans for the new round come after the lending startup merged its two Indian entities – Finnovation Tech and KrazyBee – before going public and paid nearly $100 million in taxes to move its headquarters to India. Mint It was previously reported.
The company, which raised $200 million in a financing round led by US-based private equity firm Advent International in January 2023, also counts Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, MUFG Bank, TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners and Mirae Asset Ventures among its investors.
Fintech pipeline
If the IPO goes as planned, KreditBee will join a growing list of startups aiming to tap India’s capital markets and offer an exit to existing investors. Its peers include Kissht, Moneyview and Fibe, which are at various stages of their IPO journey.
Last year, Mint Turtlemint reported that many fintech startups like KreditBee and Kissht (especially those valued under $1 billion and often referred to as “near-unicorns”) are pursuing public listings, unaffected by market volatility or the poor performance of some previous tech IPOs.
Financial momentum and business model
KreditBee’s net profit increased ₹473 crore in FY25 ₹285 crore in FY24, according to a report. money control report. Revenues increased by 40 percent on an annual basis ₹2,712 crore ₹1,948 crore.
Founded in 2016 by Madhusudan Ekambaram, Vivek Veda and Karthikeyan Krishnaswamy, KreditBee provides credit and personal finance services through its registered non-banking finance company KrazyBee Services Pvt Ltd. NBFC has partnered with more than 10 financial institutions to provide loans to customers.
The company offers many products, including personal loans (online and offline), payment financing and digital gold. Borrowers can apply for the following loans: ₹1,000 to ₹4 lakhs with maturities of 2-15 months. KreditBee says it has approximately 6 million credit customers, more than 2 million of whom are active.
