Hornbill, Dragon Funds, others eye KreditBee stake ahead of IPO

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI : 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. 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. If the IPO goes as planned, KreditBee