TPG Growth, Norwest Venture Partners and Evolvence have invested Rs 337 crore (about $45 million) in the Series E funding round of non-banking finance company (NBFC) Ess Kay Fincorp Ltd.
The three firms invested along with promoter Rajendra Setia, the company said in a statement.
While this is the third investment by TPG Growth in Jaipur-based Ess Kay, the other two are investing for the fourth time.
“This is our third round of investment in the company in the last 2.5 years and we continue to be strong believers in Ess Kay’s business model that bridges the large credit gap that exists for the unbanked and under-banked in India,” said Akshay Tanna, partner at TPG Growth.
Evolvence has been invested in the company since 2017.
Ess Kay, an unlisted used-vehicle and SME financier, announced that with this investment it will have raised over Rs 1,000 crore of external capital from marquee investors.
For this transaction, Spark Capital acted as an exclusive financial advisor to the company.
Last year, Ess Kay had raised Rs 86 crore (about $11.8 million) in debt funding from Swiss asset manager responsAbility AG.
In November 2019, TPG Growth, a middle-market and growth equity platform of alternative asset firm TPG, multi-stage growth investment firm Norwest Venture Partners and Evolvence India together had led a $33 million (Rs 235 crore) equity investment in Ess Kay.
In January 2018, Norwest Venture Partners led a $32 million (around Rs 200 crore) funding round in Ess Kay. About half of this amount constituted primary infusion and the remaining went to private equity investor BanyanTree Growth Capital, which fully exited the company.
Ess Kay also counts Baring Private Equity Partner India Ltd, Northern Arc Capital and Blacksoil Capital, among others, as investors.
It primarily provides financing in rural and semi-urban regions across North and West India. The firm was founded in 1994 by first-generation entrepreneur Rajendra Setia.
Ess Kay has a presence across more than 350 branches in seven states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Haryana, servicing over 2.25 lakh customers who are mostly low-income and self-employed individuals. It employs more than 5,000.
