Sachin Bansal’s Navi Technologies Gets SEBI Approval For IPO

The Sachin Bansal-owned Navi Technologies Ltd. has received the market regulator’s final approval for its Rs 3,350-crore initial share sale.

The fintech startup had filed draft papers for the IPO with the regulator on March 14, 2022.

An order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, dated Sept. 9, indicated that it had issued the observation letter for the IPO on Sept. 5. Issuance of observation letter refers to final approval granted by the regulator for an issue.

The Navi IPO will consist entirely of fresh issue of shares, according to its draft red herring prospectus.

The proceeds from the offer will go directly to the company, which will use them for investing in two subsidiaries—Navi Finserv Ltd. and Navi General Insurance Ltd.

The company will inject Rs 2,370 crore into Navi Finserv, and Rs 150 crore in Navi General Insurance. The remainder of the IPO proceeds will be utilised for general corporate purposes.

The company is also considering a pre-IPO placement of Rs 670 crore, according to the draft papers, which will reduce the size of the main share sale.

Navi Technologies is a fintech product and services provider focused on the young middle-class population. It is involved in lending, insurance, and asset management segments. It has, however, stayed out of the digital payments segment, which has seen intense competition in India.

Bansal, the billionaire co-founder of Flipkart, had founded Navi Technologies at the end of 2018 with Ankit Agarwal, after selling his first venture to Walmart Inc. and exiting the same.

Navi’s revenue was almost Rs 720 crore for the nine months ended December 2021, compared with Rs 780 crore for the full fiscal ending March 2021, according to its DRHP.

Navi’s lending app provides loans of up to Rs 20 lakh instantly and digitally without any paper documentation, according to its website.

It has applied for a banking licence with the Reserve Bank of India, which is pending approval.