Mobikwik and Cardekho are two new Indian unicorns🦄
Open raises $100 mn, What is a neobank?, Funding Deals & more.
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IPO-bound MobiKwik turns unicorn as employees exercise ESOP option💵
MobiKwik, which earlier this week received the regulatory nod to float its initial public offering (IPO) worth Rs 1,900 crore, has turned into India's 32nd unicorn this year after a secondary transaction that valued the digital payments firm at $1 billion.
MobiKwik employees exercised their ESOPs (Employee stock ownership) in a recently opened window by selling part of their shares in a secondary sale. "The secondary round was led by ex-Blackstone India Head, Mathew Cyriac, who topped up his holding at almost double of his previous price," the sources said.
MobiKwik is eyeing IPO valuation between USD 1.5 billion to USD 1.7 billion, which is expected to hit the market before Diwali.
CarDekho enters unicorn club with $250 million funding🚗
Girnar Software-owned automobile portal CarDekho has become the latest entrant to the unicorn club closing a $250 million round of funding led by Leapfrog Investments.
The round includes $200 million Series E equity and $50 million as debt in its pre-IPO round. The new round values CarDekho at $1.2 billion, breaching the benchmark for a startup to be called a unicorn.
Founded in 2008, Jaipur-based CarDekho group operates auto sites such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com and BikeDekho.com. Its fintech platform is the fourth largest used car retail loan originator in India, behind HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Mahindra Finance.
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Neo-banking platform Open raises $100 mn from Temasek, Google, others💱
Neobanking startup Open has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, along with participation from other new investors like tech major Google, card operator Visa and Japan's SBI Investment.
What is a neobank? Read our explainer here.
The Bengaluru-based company aims to strengthen its leadership in the SME neo-banking space, taking the total base from the present 2 million to 5 million in India and expand its services to Southeast Asia through the funds.
Founded in 2017, Open is a neobanking platform that offers tools to small businesses. It competes with other neobanks such as Jupiter, RazorpayX, and Niyo.
Neobanks in India have raised a record 196.7 million across 16 deals as of September 23 this year, according to data from Tracxn.
Tweet of the day🐥
⏩ Former State Bank of India chief Rajnish Kumar joins BharatPe as chairman.
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