Advent-backed KreditBee taps Nomura, ICICI Securities to raise $120 million ahead of IPO

The company has mandated Nomura and ICICI Securities to lead the private fundraise, three of the people said on the condition of anonymity. Emails sent to Nomura and ICICI Securities did not elicit a response till the time of publishing. KreditBee declined to comment.

One of the three people said the round could be a mix of primary and secondary, with the latter making up only a small portion. The person added that KreditBee will likely file its IPO documents in the next calendar year.

A fourth person added that there is strong interest from private equity firms, though certain large domestic players are still evaluating the digital lending space.

“Since they have had limited exposure to the sector so far, they are taking time to build conviction and identify the best bet," this person said, adding the round is expected to close within 3-5 months.

Competitive IPO pipeline

The person also noted that other digital lenders such as Kissht, Moneyview, and Fibe are preparing IPOs, which means KreditBee will need to carefully time its listing.

“If another lender goes public first and secures attractive valuations, companies may look to accelerate IPO plans. If not, they could delay," the person said.

According to the person, peers are evaluating both IPO timing and private markets, but KreditBee is the only one moving ahead with a formal private fundraising process through bankers.

To be sure, a crowded pipeline in general has IPO-bound companies watchful of their listings as valuations are falling lower than expected even resulting in investors opting out of selling in the IPO. Some like SK Finance, have reportedly pulled back on its planned IPO, despite initially cutting down its issue size due to lower investor demand.

Mint reported in April that several fintech startups—especially those valued at under $1 billion and often referred to as soonicorns—Turtlemint, KreditBee and Kissht, are eyeing a public listing, undeterred by market volatility or the lacklustre performance of some previous tech company listings.

Mint reported in August that Kissht has filed its DRHP to raise up to ₹1,000 crore from the IPO.

KreditBee’s plans for a new round come after the lending startup merged its two India entities—Finnovation Tech and KrazyBee—ahead of a public listing and paid around $100 million in tax to move its headquarters to India, Mint reported earlier.

The company, which raised $200 million in a funding 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.

Strong financials

If the IPO goes as planned, KreditBee will join a long list of other startups that are looking to tap buoyant Indian capital markets and help their existing investors find exits. Groww, Razorpay, Zepto, Phonepe, and Pine Labs are either in the process or likely to begin their journey to list.

Its net profit grew to ₹473 crore in FY25 compared to ₹285 crore in FY24, according to a Moneycontrol report. KreditBee also reported a 40% growth in revenue to ₹2,712 crore from ₹1,948 crore a year earlier.

Founded in 2016 by Madhusudan Ekambaram, Vivek Veda, and Karthikeyan Krishnaswamy, KreditBee offers credit and other personal finance services through its registered non-banking financial company, KrazyBee Services Pvt Ltd. The NBFC has partnered with over 10 financial institutions to provide credit to its customers.

The company offers multiple types of personal loans, online or offline, checkout finance, and digital gold. Borrowers can apply for a personal loan starting from ₹1,000 to ₹4 lakh with tenures ranging from 2 to 15 months. KreditBee claims to have 6 million loan customers, of which over 2 million are active.