BlackSoil, Caspian Complete Merger To Create An INR 1,900 Cr NBFC

Over eight months after receiving RBI’s nod, venture debt firms Blacksoil Capital and Caspian Debt have officially announced the completion of their merger. Although the merger process formally concluded on October 31, the combined entity has been operating as BlackSoil Capital Private Limited since earlier this month.

In a statement, the new NBFC claimed that its combined assets under management (AUM) now stands at INR 1,900 Cr. Till date, the two debt firms have cumulatively disbursed debt capital to over 550 companies. BlackSoil Capital’s startups portfolio includes names like HomeLane, mCaffeine, LeverageEdu and MobiKwik

The boards of both entities cleared the deal in September 2024 and the RBI granted its approval in April. The merger was pending only the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) clearance, which has now been secured.

As a joint entity, the NBFC claims that it will now have access to a new segment of around 5,000 borrowers, making its portfolio more granular. This will enable it to back a greater number of startups across stages. 

Moving forward, BlackSoil Capital will target investments across segments like agritech, healthcare, consumer services, fintech and cleantech. The NBFC is targeting a 25% CAGR growth of its AUM over the next few years.

“This merger allows us to address one of the biggest gaps in India’s financial system — timely, flexible credit for SMEs & enterprises, which is often overlooked by traditional lenders. By combining our strengths with Caspian, we aim to build a comprehensive ecosystem of private credit solutions that fuels sustainable and impact-oriented growth,” BlackSoil Capital’s managing director Ankur Bansal said.

Important to mention that the merger had been in the making for over a year now, receiving regulatory clearances from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) and the National Company Law Tribunal in September 2024 and April 2025, respectively. 

Both of the venture debt funds have been notable startup backers in their own rights prior to the merger. While BlackSoil has disbursed over INR 7,800 Cr in credit to 270 companies, Caspian’s debt investment stood at INR 4,000 Cr.

In BlackSoil Capital, BlackSoil would focus on providing customised alternative credit solutions to growth stage startups and NBFCs, Caspian Debt will look at investments in small and medium enterprises. 

The development comes amid a surge in mergers and acquisitions aimed at expanding and streamlining financial and tech offerings in India. The first half of 2025 saw M&A activity jump  40% to 52 in H1 FY25 from 37 such deals a year ago. 

Notable recent transactions include the merger of InsuranceDekho and RenewBuy, Solv and Jumbotail, among others.