Fintech start-up ZestMoney gets an acquisition offer over LinkedIn

Social networking platform LinkedIn is used by millions to network and find job opportunities but it is not often that one comes across a takeover offer on the platform.

Ashwin Bhambri, founder of micro-lending start-up KreditPE, in a long post on LinkedIn, expressed his interest in merging and running Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) start-up ZestMoney, which recently decided to shut operations.

Bhambri, in his ‘open letter to ZestMoney’, said that he has the utmost respect for what the founders have built and the impact the venture has created while adding that the BNPL platform is “too good to shut down”.

Interestingly, Bhambri further added that if KrediPE acquires ZestMoney, a product can be created that will be much more successful than PhonePe.

“We (at KreditPE) love the product and would like to propose acquiring ZestMoney and run-it. We firmly believe we’ll make it 100 times more successful than #PhonePe… Reviving ZestMoney is going to take innovation & frugality and we excel at it,” stated the post by Bhambri.

Incidentally, earlier this year PhonePe called off its planned acquisition of ZestMoney after months of due diligence.

“We (at KreditPE) officially express our interest in merging & running ZestMoney and are keen to connect with the decision-makers,” added the letter addressed to all the co-founders of ZestMoney -- Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman – along with the employees and investors.

Investors who have put money in ZestMoney during various funding rounds include Omidyar Network India, Alteria Capital, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Ribbit Capital, Naspers, and PayU among others, as per data from Tracxn.

Meanwhile, as per the letter, a tie-up or merger between KreditPE and ZestMoney would lead to the creation of a postpaid UPI wallet service, which could make more sense for an aspirational Indian user.

“When the option is available the larger Indian audience will switch to a postpaid wallet service & #paytm and #phonepe have yet to scratch the surface when it comes to postpaid,” stated the letter.

Our competitive edge over everyone else is a lending algorithm & format that’s unmatched, everyone claims to have a lending algo but no one does, it added.