NCLT approves slice and North East Small Finance Bank’s merger

Fintech unicorn Slice has received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB).

Both the companies announced their merger in October 2023. In March last year, Slice acquired a 5% stake in Guwahati-headquartered bank for about $3.42 million.

The merger will enable the combined entity to leverage advanced technology and deep community understanding, fostering financial inclusion across the nation, Slice said in a press release. Customers can look forward to an expanded range of products, enhanced omni channel offerings, and a seamless banking experience.

The NCLT has sanctioned the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation involving Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited, Quadrillion Finance Private Limited, Intergalactory Foundry Private Limited, RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited, and North East Small Finance Bank Limited.

Slice and NESFB have got approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Both firms also received no-objection certificates from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Income Tax Department.

The development comes soon after the conclusion of Slice’s $30 million debt round. Entrackr had exclusively reported the development then. Slice has raised $340 million to date, and was last valued at over $1.5 billion during the Series C round in November 2021. As per data intelligence platform TheKredible, the company’s co-founder and CEO Rajan Bajaj holds 8.21% stake.

Slice recorded three fold jump in its revenue to  Rs 843 crore in FY23 while losses grew 59.8% to Rs 406 crore. During FY23, the Bengaluru-based company managed to scale even after the disruption it faced from RBI’s change in rules for card issuers. It is yet to file its annual financial results for FY24.