InCred acquires personal loan marketplace Qbera

The Covid-19 outbreak has impacted the majority of the startups severely, and consolidation is one of a few options for companies who are left with a short runway. In one such development, InCred has reportedly acquired Qbera.

While media reports hint that the acquisition materialized in $15 million, Entrackr’s sources emphasized that it’s a stress deal with little or no upside for Qbera. The deal tool place somewhere in April.

According to an ET report, founders of Qbera-Aditya Ghosh and Anuj Sachdev would be joining InCred to head the platform business and advisory role respectively. The rest of the Qbera’s team would also join the Mumbai-based lender.

Qbera provides personal finance to the sub-segment of the salaried class who is usually overlooked by banks and financial institutions. It works with banks and NBFCs to provide personal loans to salaried class borrowers. On the other hand, InCred is one of the top three lenders along with Lendingkart and Capital Float. InCred is a full-stack lender in personal, SMEs, education, and two-wheeler loans. 

“Qbera has been in stress for quite some time and was out in the market for acquisition since late last year. It was in talks with InCred from February. It’s unlikely that InCred is spending anything significant for acquiring Qbera,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. “It’s also highly unlikely that InCred would absorb Qbera’s workforce completely in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.”

Qbera has raised $4.5 million in total funding across two financing rounds. The last investment for the company came in September 2018 in which it had raised $3 million in an all-equity deal from Essel Group’s subsidiary. 

Before exploring acquisition, Qbera was eyeing to raise $15 million. However, the round didn’t happen, and the company was facing a liquidity crunch. “The pandemic has aggravated its perils and pushed Qbera for this deal,” add the above-quoted person.