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The world’s biggest technology investment engine is buying a stake in Zopa, the British fintech which has revived its fortunes after a torrid period in which it nearly lost its banking licence.
Sky News has learnt that SoftBank’s Vision Fund II is leading a funding round that will see more than £100m of new capital injected into Zopa.
The fundraising, which is likely to be announced next week, is expected to be the peer-to-peer lender and digital bank’s last big fundraising ahead of a planned public flotation towards the end of next year.
A number of other investors are expected to participate in the round, which will value Zopa at in excess of £500m ($684m), according to one shareholder.
The deal will add Zopa to a growing stable of European fintechs which have been backed by SoftBank’s two Vision Funds.
In the UK, it holds stakes in Oaknorth and Revolut, the latter having received Vision Fund money in a round which made it Britain’s most valuable tech company.
SoftBank has also backed Klarna, the Buy Now, Pay Later platform which is Europe’s most richly valued fintech.
Zopa’s new valuation will represent a significant turnaround for its management team, led by chief executive Jaidev Janardana, and puts it on track to become Britain’s latest technology ‘unicorn’ when it goes public.
Zopa was founded in 2004 and became a pioneer in the burgeoning peer-to-peer sector, raising tens of millions of pounds from investors to expand its business.
It experienced a rocky period in 2019, however, and was forced to scramble to raise £140m in order to avoid losing its fledgling banking licence.
New investors in that round were led by IAG Capital Partners, a US-based private investment firm, while it has also been backed by existing…
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Source : skynews
