Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal led Navi files $440 mn IPO

Navi, the fintech startup founded by billionaire Sachin Bansal, has filed a $440 mn IPO, a sign India’s technology startup industry hasn’t fully lost IPO momentum.

Sachin Bansal founded Navi at the end of 2018 with fellow entrepreneur Ankit Agarwal.

Navi Technologies Ltd., the fintech startup founded by technology billionaire Sachin Bansal, has filed initial documents for a 33.5 billion-rupee ($440 million) initial share sale, a sign India's technology startup industry hasn't fully lost IPO momentum.

Navi's IPO will consist entirely of new shares, according to its draft prospectus, meaning that all proceeds will be plowed directly back into the company.

The company may consider a pre-IPO placement of up to 6.7 billion rupees, reducing the size of the main offering, according to the draft filing. The share sale may open in June, according to Indian news wire PTI.

The startup, which markets personal and home loans, health insurance and mutual funds to India's digitally-connected middle classes, has avoided moving into digital payments, a segment where a slew of startups are struggling to become profitable.

Bansal, 40, whose net worth surpassed $1 billion when he sold his first startup, online retailer Flipkart Online Services Pvt. to Walmart Inc., founded Navi at the end of 2018 with fellow entrepreneur Ankit Agarwal.

Navi's revenue was almost 7.2 billion rupees for the nine months ended December, according to its filing, compared with 7.8 billion rupees for the full fiscal year ending last March.

Navi's lending app provides loans of up to 2 million rupees instantly and digitally without any paper documentation, according to its website. Its application to get a banking license is still pending with India's banking regulator.