DigiAsia's existing shareholders, including Mastercard and Reliance Capital Management are expected to roll 100% of their equity into the combined company

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DigiAsia to merge with StoneBridge Acquisition. (Credit: Tumisu from Pixabay)

Indonesia-based Fintech-As-a-Service (FaaS) firm DigiAsia Bios has agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) StoneBridge Acquisition in a deal that values the combined company at a pre-money equity of $500m.

The deal with the SPAC will enable DigiAsia to go public in the US and trade on the Nasdaq stock market.

Before signing the merger deal, the fintech company closed an investment of $14.5m at a post-money valuation of $450m, which was led by Reliance Capital Management (RCM).

Stonebridge Acquisition CEO Bhargav Marepally said: “Stonebridge was established as a bridge for IPO ready companies in the Asia-Pacific region to access the US public markets.

“DigiAsia’s focus on Indonesia, one of the fastest growing markets in Asia, its ability to scale quickly through sticky customers, the strategic investors on the cap table and a management team with a proven track record make it a great fit for Stonebridge.”

Established in 2017, the FaaS firm provides embedded fintech solutions to business to business to consumer (B2B2C) and business to business to merchant (B2B2M).

The services include mobile wallets, card issuance, utility bill payments, cash management, supply chain payments, remittances, lending and others.

DigiAsia stated that it is the exclusive partner of Mastercard in Indonesia. The company’s other significant partners include Garuda Indonesia, Bukalapak, Western Union, Starbucks, Semen Indonesia, eFishery, KaiPay, and Home Credit.

Post-merger, the combined company expects to receive about $200m in net cash through the deal, assuming no redemptions by the SPAC public shareholders.

DigiAsia’s existing shareholders, including Mastercard and Reliance Capital Management are expected to roll 100% of their equity into the combined company.

The funds are expected to bolster the fintech firm’s growth by working on customer and ecosystem buildout, new BaaS product development, expansion with existing customers, and ecosystem data monetisation.

DigiAsia co-CEO Prashant Gokarn said: “DigiAsia’s vision is to be an active part of the digital revolution of Indonesia by enabling financial services – lending, payments, remittances and mass low cost banking – to all individuals and businesses, irrespective of their size or socioeconomic status.

“We are also very proud to be working with Mastercard to build on our existing offering in order to increase financial inclusion in Indonesia.”

Subject to StoneBridge Acquisition’s stockholders’ approval and other conditions, the deal is anticipated to close in Q2 2023.