Alphabet-backed Aye Finance, which provides loans to micro enterprises, is in the final stages of its initial public offer process, with a size in the range ₹2,000-3,000 crore, and is likely to file the draft prospectus in 2-3 weeks, sources said.
The company, which has seen several funding rounds since it was founded in 2014, has been working on the IPO since earlier this year and now it is almost ready for the filing stage, sources aware of the developments said. A good portion of the IPO will be an offer for sale by some of its investors.
In response to a request for clarification, the firm’s company secretary replied, “the company in its ordinary course of business considers and evaluates various capital raising and funding options from time to time,” and added, “We are unable to comment further at this stage.”
Google’s parent Alphabet now holds around 14 per cent stake in the micro-lender, having participated in several rounds of funding through the years. Alphabet first invested in the company through CapitalG LP in 2018 when it led a funding round of ₹147 crore, with an investment of ₹80.9 crore, according to information provided by Tracxn. It was a series C round that valued the company at ₹567 crore. The promoters diluted 25.9 per cent then.
It has participated in two more rounds since then, investing ₹71.2 core in 2020 and ₹33 crore in 2019. Aye Finance has raised over ₹1,000 crore in equity since its inception.
In September, Aye Finance raised close to ₹250 crore in Series G financing. Earlier in the year it had raised ₹310 crore, with British International Investment Plc putting in ₹250 crore and holding 10.5 per cent stake. That fundraise valued the company at ₹2,380 crore, according to Tracxn.
The lender reported a net profit of ₹161 crore in FY24 on revenue of ₹1,072 crore, according to its annual report. It disbursed ₹3,941 crore during the year and in the ten years of its existence has 478 branches across 22 States and union territories.
Other major investors in the company include A91 Partners, Elevation Capital, and Falcon Edge Capital, the information showed.