Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:Hornbill, Dragon Funds, others eye KreditBee stake ahead of IPO– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
MUMBAI
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Investment firms including Hornbill Capital and Japan’s MUFG-backed Dragon Funds are evaluating a stake in lending startup KreditBee as part of a proposed $100–120 million fundraise ahead of the company’s planned initial public offering, three people familiar with the matter said.
The largely primary round would mark KreditBee’s first major capital raise since 2023 and comes as a growing number of profitable fintechs prepare to tap India’s buoyant public markets, offering potential exits to early investors.
“The bids are due later this month and at least 3-4 funds have expressed interest in the asset,” one of the people cited above said. “The round will be largely primary with a small secondary component under which angel investors may look to sell,” a second person said, adding that the deal is likely to close by later this quarter.
Mint first reported in September that the company has mandated Nomura and ICICI Securities to lead the private fundraise ahead of its plans to file its IPO documents later this year.
Hornbill, Dragon Funds, KreditBee, Nomura and ICICI did not respond to Mint’s requests for a comment on Monday.
IPO groundwork
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.
Fintech pipeline
If the IPO goes as planned, KreditBee will join a growing list of startups seeking to tap Indian capital markets and offer exits to existing investors. Its peers include Kissht, Moneyview and Fibe, which are all at various stages of their IPO journey.
Last year, Mint reported that several fintech startups—especially those valued at under $1 billion and often referred to as soonicorns—such as Turtlemint, KreditBee and Kissht were eyeing public listings, undeterred by market volatility or the lacklustre performance of some earlier tech IPOs.
Financial momentum and business model
KreditBee’s net profit rose to ₹473 crore in FY25 from ₹285 crore in FY24, according to a Moneycontrol report. Revenue grew 40% year-on-year to ₹2,712 crore from ₹1,948 crore.
Founded in 2016 by Madhusudan Ekambaram, Vivek Veda and Karthikeyan Krishnaswamy, KreditBee offers credit and personal finance services through its registered non-banking financial company, KrazyBee Services Pvt Ltd. The NBFC has partnered with over 10 financial institutions to extend credit to customers.
The company provides multiple products including personal loans (online and offline), checkout finance and digital gold. Borrowers can apply for loans ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹4 lakh with tenures of 2–15 months. KreditBee says it has around 6 million loan customers, of whom more than 2 million are active.