Protium in advanced talks to buy Clix Capital; Rs 1,900-2,200 crore valuation likely

Mumbai | Kolkata: Protium Finance, a Mumbai based non-bank lender, is in advanced discussions with the key shareholders of Clix Capital, to buy the mid-market commercial finance company to add scale, branch into newer markets and product lines, said people in the know.

Both sides are in exclusive negotiations and are hopeful of completing the legal documentation and agreements by August.

Protium is expected to value Clix at around Rs 1900-Rs 2200 crores or 1.2 to 1.5 times its book value. NBFC valuations have materially come off from historic highs in the last one and a half years due to tighter regulatory norms, rising borrowing costs, and moderating loan growth.


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A successful completion will help Aion Capital Partners – a joint venture between US alternative investment managers Apollo Global Management and ICICI Bank – exit the last of its investments from its maiden $825 million fund. In 2016, former GE veterans, Pramod Bhasin and Anil Chawla, teamed up to buy out GE Finance when the US industrial giant decided to carve out several of its non-core business operations. Bhasin, also one of the pioneers of the Indian BPO industry, and Chawla were then backed by Aion with funds to complete the buyout. It was subsequently rebranded as Clix for its digital lending and analytics focus.

Clix has been up for grabs since late 2024 when Apollo mandated Barclays and Moelis to launch a formal sale process. Since then, the process has seen several intermittent approaches from various suitors including TVS Capital and Ugro Capital. Even Chawla tried multiple times to strike a deal but most negotiations fell through for valuation mismatch, structuring difficulties or the lack of funds. For long, Chawla tried a management buyout but could not rustle up backers. Many industry sources believe divergent shareholder views on business strategy also hampered Clix's growth.

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According to one of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Protium may partner with Lightrock, a $6 billion impact focussed investment manager that has backed several new age Indian enterprises like Vivriti, Axio digital finance, DeHaat, Cuemath, Nayva, Waycool.

Protium, a seven-year old venture that was launched by Peeyush Misra, a former Goldman Sachs executive along with some of his old peers and colleagues specializes in providing consumer, educational, equipment, and other business loans for MSMEs. It was also backed by Micheal Platt, a legendary UK hedge fund manager and co-founder of BlueCrest Capital Management.

The company was incorporated in 2019 as Growth Source Financial Technologies Limited and was rechristened Protium Finance Limited in June 2022. The total Assets Under Management (AUM) as
on September 2025 stood at Rs. 8,675 crore as against AUM of Rs. 2,908 crore as on March 2023. The company operates through a network of 123 branches spread across 16 states as on September 2025.

In comparison, Clix had consolidated assets under management worth Rs 7,675 crore at the end of september last year with 2.25% of them being non-performing. Its loan book was Rs 6,200 crore. It has a wholly-owned housing finance subsidiary, Clix Housing. The company posted a net profit of Rs 30 crore in the first half of FY26 on a total income of Rs 559 crore. Its consolidated net profit for FY25 was Rs 78 crore against Rs 61 crore in the preceding fiscal. Rating company CareEdge Ratings said earlier this year that the company saw a moderation in net interest margin to 5.6% in the first half of FY26 from 5.8% in FY25 on account of a shift in focus toward a secured portfolio. The unsecured portfolio was about one-third of the AUM as of September last year.

“Consolidation amongst mid-size companies is inevitable for scale. Protium’s overall AUM will get a significant bump, it will improve its presence in north, also in segments like school financing, the combination will add significant heft. It’s not easy to replicate branch network, feet on ground or build a brand organically,” said an official in the know. “Under a stronger management team, Clix will also get a fresh lease of life.”

Apollo declined to comment. Efforts to reach Bhasin, Chawla and Peeyush Misra, Founder & CEO, Protium Finance did not generate a response. Lightrock did not respond to ET’s request for comment.

From its heydays in early 2020, when it made a non binding offer to merge with Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Clix has weathered significant headwinds following IL&FS blowout and Covid which had impacted its asset quality. Its original plans of an IPO after reaching a Rs 10,000 crore AUM also did not materialize. Some of its peers feel it diversified and spread itself thin across multiple products many of which remained sub-scale. Chawla’s insistence on an MBO also slowed down its growth trajectory and the company lost several of its senior leadership. With Aion’s fund life over, Apollo was also keen on a quick exit.