Nexo acquires Vauld🤝🏻, LazyPay halts UPI-based BNPL⚠️, Startup IPO plans hurt📊
Nexo gives Vauld a lifeline, LazyPay halts UPI based BNPL product, Bear markets hurt Startup IPO plans, Funding Deals and more.
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Nexo Signs Term Sheet With Vauld for Potential Acquisition🤝🏻
London-based crypto exchange Nexo will acquire crypto lending platform Vauld, pending due diligence — marking the latest sign of consolidation in the crypto market amidst falling prices.
“The completion of this transaction is pending due diligence – which both teams are working on as we speak. Vauld has strived to deliver long-term value to all customers, and we believe coming under the Nexo umbrella will significantly help achieve this,” said Darshan Bathija, cofounder and CEO of Vauld.
Yesterday we reported that Vauld had suspended all deposits and withdrawals owing to market volatility and financial troubles.
Ever since the collapse of the terraUSD stablecoin in May, several crypto lenders have found themselves in trouble and many, including Celsius, have paused withdrawals.
LazyPay halts UPI-based buy-now-pay-later product⚠️
LazyPay, the lending arm of PayU India, has temporarily stopped support for its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) product LazyPlus UPI amid rising regulatory concerns for card-based credit fintech firms.
The product, launched by the company in September 2020, allowed users to pay through the unified payments interface (UPI) channel from a revolving credit line issued to the customer. LazyPay was issuing a credit line of up to Rs 1 lakh to users for online and offline transactions through UPI.
The Reserve Bank of India sent the fintech industry into a tizzy last month when it barred non-banks from loading prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) with credit lines.
Hot Shorts⚡
Fintech stock trading platform MarketWolf has raised $10 million in its Series A funding round led by Jungle Ventures and Dream Capital.
AntWalk, a business-to-business (B2B) edtech platform, has raised $7.5 million in funding round led by GSV Ventures.
Insurtech startup Ensuredit has received $4.2 million Pre-Series A funding round led by Cover Genius. 9Unicorns, NexStep Discovery, CP Ventures, Venture Catalysts, IPV along with existing investors.
Lightbulb.ai, an emotion Ai and engagement analytics platform has raised $1.5 million in its Pre-Seed funding round led by Chiratae Ventures and 9Unicorns.
Crypto tax platform KoinX has secured $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal, iSeed Fund, KubeVC, and other angel investors.
GrowthX, a social learning community platform, has raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Better Capital and several angel investors.
Personalized care management platform Zyla Health has raised $1 million in its Pre-Series A round led by Seeders, with participation from SuperMorpheus.
➡️ Check out our LinkedIn space for more on the funding deals.
Startup valuations fall sharply, hurting IPO plans📊
Valuations of several new-age companies have taken a beating in the market for unlisted shares as the craze for startups wanes, possibly delaying many companies’ plans to go public.
PharmEasy, Oyo, Boat and Ixigo have seen a sharp fall in value in the past six months, according to people dealing in the unlisted equity market.
This could make promoters and private equity investors hesitant to go for a public issue of shares. The weak stock market performance of Paytm, Policybazaar post their IPO will also weigh on investors minds, they said.
The unlisted shares of PharmEasy (API holdings) are trading around Rs 45 each from a high of Rs 145.
Imagine Marketing Ltd, which owns the Boat brand, has seen its share price drop to Rs 850-900 from Rs 1,250 a few months ago.
Oyo, which hit a high of Rs 130 six months ago, is now trading at Rs 90-95.
Shares of travel portal Ixigo are changing hands at around Rs 180, down from Rs 220-230 earlier.
Shares of Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa and PolicyBazaar, which went public during the bull run last year, are all trading well below their issue price.
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