BharatPe Parent Looking To Sell Stake In Unity SFB : Report

Fintech giant BharatPe’s parent entity Resilient Innovations is reportedly looking to sell its stake in Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity SFB).

The company is mulling to raise $800 Mn by selling 25% of its stake in the bank, BS reported citing sources close to the matter. 

Inc42 has reached out to BharatPe for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

It is pertinent to note that Resilient Innovations owns 49% stake in Unity SFB. This offloading aligns with BharatPe’s regulatory requirement to trim down its holding in the bank to 10% by 2029.

As per the licensing requirements, BharatPe needs to cut down its stake in the bank to 10% within 8 years of the bank being operational. 

As the deal is being carried out due to regulatory requirements, the fintech startup will continue its association with the bank after diluting its stake. BharatPe is planning to offload a major chunk of stake before the bank goes for a listing.

Besides BharatPe, Unity SFB is backed by Centrum Financial Services. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a SFB license to the bank in 2021.

The development comes at a time when BharatPe is on an expansion spree. A few months back, the fintech giant strengthened its investment offering by launching a new app called  Invest BharatPe.The company further said that it launched digital gold as the first product on the platform.

Additionally, the fintech startup also explored the super app wave by adding an ecommerce section on its platform apart from UPI payments, bill payments and credit card repayment options. It also offers unsecured personal loans up to INR 15 Lakh via NBFC partners such as L&T Finance, CASHe, and True Credit.

BharatPe posted a consolidated revenue of INR 1,426 Cr in FY24, up 39%from INR 1,029 Cr in FY23. 

Recently, the startup settled its two-year-long dispute with its former managing director Ashneer Grover.