Nonbanking financial firm Bajaj Finance Ltd., will be investing $ 35. 2 million in the digital payments company MobiKwik to buy an 11% stake. Bajaj Finance made the announcement in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing stating they had entered into a subscription agreement with One MobiKwik Systems.
According to the filings, Bajaj Finance will be buying 10 equity shares and 271,050 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS.) The finance company will hold about 10.83% of the equity in MobiKwik on a fully diluted basis post the conversion of the CCPS shares.
The CEO of MobiKwik, Bipin Preet Singh, speaking about the association said, “ Our partnership with BFL will enable us to realise our vision of performing all the functions of (a) bank yet retain our core competency of being India’s leading e-wallet and we strongly believe that this combined value proposition will attract millions of new customers to choose wallet led mobile banking transactions.”
He also added Mobikwik will transform into a new age bank where their digital transactions will lead to lowering of lending rates and increased supply of money in the Indian economy. According to a statement released by MobiKwik, they will be able to launch India’s first debit and credit wallet through this strategic tie up with one of the largest nonbanks in India.
But, under the agreement, the conclusion of the transaction of the shares is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions in due course. Bajaj Finance also added that the investment was intended to support existing line of businesses, develop front end applications for users availing financial services and create a one stop solution for all debit and credit spends. They have also entered into shareholders agreement which will become effective on the conclusion of the transaction.
Speaking about the investment, the Managing Director of Bajaj Finance, Rajeev Jain said, “We aim to combine the synergies of both the organizations – deep rooted customer analytics and extreme focus on digital-oriented eco-system will make this a disruptive proposition amongst our existing products.”
MobiKwik was founded in 2009 by Bipin Singh and Upasana Taku and has raised more than $ 85 million in investments till date. Earlier this year the company said they were looking to raise funds to compete against rival digital payment platforms like Paytm and FreeCharge. They also plan to expand to become a one stop solution for all financial solutions according to cofounder Upasana Taku.