Multiple PE leads $111 mn bet on lender Kogta Financial

By Debjyoti Roy

  • 31 Mar 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Non-bank lender Kogta Financial (India) Ltd has raised $111 million (Rs 846 crore) as a part of its Series D funding led by homegrown private equity fund Multiples Alternate Asset Management.  

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) also joined the round as new investor.  

Existing backers Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and Creador also participated in the fundraise, as per a press statement. 

In the past, Renuka Ramnath-led Multiples PE had backed quite a few players in the broader financial services sector including APAC Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, RBL Bank, Vastu Housing Finance Co. Ltd and Sanctum Wealth Management, among others.  

The transaction also paved a secondary exit for IIFL Seed Venture Fund, which was Kogta’s first institutional investor in Series A round of financing.  

The new infusion will be primarily used by the firm for products and geographical expansion.  

“We have grown our AUM 2x during the last 2 years despite covid and we see a strong opportunity for the Company to grow further to Rs 5,000 crore in the next 2 years,” said Arun Kogta, MD and CEO of Kogta.  

Kogta, which was launched in 1996, focuses on the large and underserved vehicle finance market specializing in used vehicle financing and MSME loans.  

Started in Rajasthan, Kogta has now expanded across eight states with over 175 branches. The company claims to have an AUM(asset under management of over Rs 2,000 crore, across commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, tractors, and MSME loans.  

“Kogta’s in-house technology and systems enable it to deliver superior turnaround time (TAT) to customers, drive productivity, and build customer insights. Arun, Varun, and Nayan have laid the foundation for a high quality retail franchise.  

We are delighted to partner with them to build a distinctive financial institution in livelihood financing for entrepreneurs across the country,” said Nithya Easwaran, MD at Multiples PE said  

The company had raised Rs 300 crore in funding in October 2019 led by Creador.  

The IIFL fund, which made an exit in the current transaction, had invested an undisclosed sum of money in Kogta in October 2016.  

Morgan Stanley PE had led a Rs 154-crore funding round in Kogta in November 2018.  

In the vehicle financing space, earlier this month, Berar Finance Ltd, which runs a two-wheeler-focused financing unit, has raised Rs 100 crore in an equity round of funding led by Denmark-based private equity fund Maj Invest.  

In the broader NBFC space, several deals were reported in the recent past.  

In February, US-based private equity major Apollo Management had invest around Rs 940 crore to pick up minority stake into Hero Fincorp, the lending unit of the Hero Group