Bajaj Finance to Pick up 11% Stake in Mobikwik for Rs 225 cr

It'll acquire 10 equity shares and 271,050 compulsory convertible preference shares of Mobikwik

Bajaj Finance on Tuesday said it will pick up nearly 11 per cent stake in mobile wallet company Mobikwik for about Rs 225 crore.

In a BSE filing, Bajaj Finance said it has entered into a subscription agreement with One MobiKwik Systems.

Under the agreement, it will acquire 10 equity shares and 271,050 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) of Mobikwik.

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

The value of the transaction envisaged is about Rs 225 crore, it added.

The company said the conclusion of the transaction is subject to fulfilment of certain conditions in due course. The company has also entered into a shareholders’ agreement, which would become effective on conclusion of the above investment transaction. “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, chief executive officer of MobiKwik, said.

Last week, Mobikwik's rival and Snapdeal-owned Freecharge was sold to Axis Bank for Rs 385 crore.

Earlier this year, MobiKwik had said it is looking at raising funding for its expansion plans as it looked to compete with larger rival Paytm that is backed by deep- pocketed investors like Alibaba and SoftBank.

Mobikwik has raised over $85 million from investors such as South Africa's payments major Net1, Sequoia Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia and Cisco Investments.

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Reference - http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/bajaj-finance-to-pick-up-11-pc-stake-in-mobikwik-for-rs-225-cr-117080201787_1.html