FinAccel, a Singapore-based consumer credit service backed by a range of corporate investors, agreed yesterday to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II.
The deal implies a pro forma equity valuation of roughly $2.5bn for the merged business, which will take the spot on the Nasdaq Capital Market acquired by VPC Impact II in a $225m initial public offering in March this year.
VPC Impact II is contributing $256m from its trust account to the deal, which will be boosted by $120m in private investment in public equity (Pipe) financing co-led by software supplier Palantir Technologies, Marshall Wace, Corbin Capital, SV Investment, Maso Capital and sponsor Victory Park Capital (VPC).
Internet company Naver and Square Peg, which are both existing shareholders of FinAccel, will invest $55m in equity funding.
Founded in 2015, FinAccel operates an artificial intelligence-equipped, Indonesia-focused consumer credit lending tool dubbed Kredivo, which enables users to finance e-commerce and physical purchases and personal loans.
It is planning to expand into other Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam and Thailand.
VPC had provided $100m in credit facility to FinAccel in July 2020 before increasing its commitment to $200m the year after.
Asia Growth Fund, a vehicle for Naver and financial services group Mirae Asset, and Square Peg Capital co-led a $90m series C round for the company in late 2019, investing alongside telecommunications firms Telkomsel Indonesia and Singapore Telecommunications, the latter through its Singtel Innov8 unit, in addition to Mirae Asset Securities, Cathay Innovation, Kejora Intervest, DST Partners and bank Westpac’s Reinventure subsidiary.
Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi and MDI Ventures, respective corporate venturing arms of Telkomsel and fellow telecoms group Telkom Indonesia, had supplied an undisclosed sum earlier in the same year.
Square Peg led FinAccel’s $30m series B round the year before, featuring MDI Ventures and internet company GMO subsidiary GMO Venture Partners, as well as Atami Capital, Jungle Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Alpha JWC Ventures and 500 Startups.
Jungle Ventures and Openspace Ventures (previously called NSI Ventures) had provided an undisclosed amount for the company in series A funding in 2017, which came in the wake of a seed round that included GMO Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures, 500 Startups and AlphaJWC Ventures the previous year.
