Japan’s SoftBank Group, alongside Singaporean state investor Temasek and Morgan Stanley, are considering a 33% stake in Indian fintech firm Financial Information and Network Operations (FINO). The deal, through which the trio would buy out asset manager Blackstone’s 26% share of the company, will value FINO at $308 million.
According to India’s Economic Times an insider says that a “formal process has been initiated” for the deal, which would be one of the country’s biggest tech investments of 2018.
FINO has grown from its foundation in 2006 to become one of India’s most valued financial services providers. Formed from a consortium of companies including HSBC Bank and ICICI Bank, the firm’s solutions are focused on India’s huge unbanked population. It currently reaches over 78m customers in 28 states, and is planning a huge deposit mobilization.
SoftBank, whose 2017-announced Vision Fund has already swept through dozens of emerging markets and territories, has been particularly active in India, whose tech sector is exploding. It has injected cash into hotel firm OYO, taxi hailing app Ola and e-commerce brand Flipkart.