Bengaluru-based fintech unicorn CRED, a members-only credit card management and bill payment platform is said to have finalized the acquisition of Sequoia Capital-backed wealth management company Smallcase for a consideration of around $400 million.
The development comes at a $6.4 billion valuation in June in a fundraising round led by CRED’s $140 million, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. A portion of the proceeds from CRED is expected to be used to finance the acquisition.
According to an industry source close to the development, funding discussions between the two companies have been going on for a few months now. Initially, CRED had no plans to acquire Smallcase. However, as talks between the two sides progressed, a buyout for the Kunal Shah-led company seemed an attractive investment option, the source said.
The source said, CRED has already completed the paperwork related to the acquisition and the deal is likely to be announced soon.
Separate emails sent to CRED founder Kunal Shah and Smallcase founder Vasant Kamath did not elicit a response when the article was published. The phone class of both Shah and Kamath also remained unanswered.
Smallcase was founded in 2015 by Vasant Kamath along with Anugrah Srivastava and Rohan Gupta in Bengaluru, Smallcase works with capital market participants (including brokerages, advisors and digital wealth platforms) to offer investment products called “Smallcases”,
Smallcases are portfolios of stocks or exchange-traded funds (EFTs) maintained by financial experts and advisors. The final investment transaction is done through the brokerage partners registered on the platform.
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