Bajaj Finance invests Rs 225cr in MobiKwik for 11pc stake

Bajaj Finance is picking up nearly 11 percent stake in mobile wallet company MobiKwik by investing Rs 225 crore. Bajaj Finance made the corporate announcement on BSE on Wednesday stating that it had “entered into a Subscription Agreement with One MobiKwik Systems Private Limited ('MobiKwik') for acquisition of 10 Equity shares and 271,050 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS).”

“Post conversion of CCPS, the company would hold approximately 10.83 per cent of equity in MobiKwik on a fully diluted basis,” it added.

“We aim to combine the synergies of both the organisations – deep-rooted customer analytics and extreme focus on digital-oriented eco-system will make this a disruptive proposition amongst our existing products. Bringing in debit and credit option in one app will facilitate stronger customer convenience, stimulating higher spends,” said Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, Bajaj Finance Ltd.

MobiKwik CEO Bipin Preet Singh said the deal will enable the company realize its vision of performing all the functions of a bank yet retain its core competency of being an e-wallet. Through this association, Bajaj Finance Ltd will extend credit facilities through MobiKwik’s mobile app catering to the wide customer base of both the companies.

"Our partnership with BFL will enable us to realise our vision of performing all the functions of 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. In short, MobiKwik transforms itself as a new-age bank where our digital transactions will lead to lowering of lending rates and increased supply of money in the Indian economy,” Bipin Preet Singh added.

MobiKwik, which claims to have a network of more than 15 lakh direct merchants and over 55 million plus users, has so far raised about $80 million from Sequoia Capital, Net1, Tree Line Asia, Cisco Investments, American Express and MediaTek.