SoftBank-backed Indian mobile advertising technology company InMobi Technologies is in the final stages of raising a $350m loan from investors including Varde Partners, Elham Credit Partners and SeaTown Holdings, 9fin sources said.

The deal is in the documentation stage and could close as early as this week, one of the sources said.

The USD-denominated loan consists of two tranches: $200m at the operating company level, priced in the low teens, and $150m at the holding company level, priced in the high teens, the sources said.

The debt is secured against the founders' stake in the company, the sources said.

A large portion of the fundraise will be used to buy back shares from SoftBank and other private equity investors in the business, the sources said. The rest is planned for capital expenditure and acquisition, the sources added.

Investec is the arranger of the debt, the sources said.

Bloomberg reported in September that InMobi was looking to raise a $350m loan for a share buyback.

IPO plans

InMobi has been planning to raise as much as $500m since April to buy out early equity investors and fund expansion. However, fundraising was delayed as investors sought more clarity on the business and the structure of the deal, one of the sources said.

InMobi plans to raise up to $1bn in a public listing, according to a separate Bloomberg report in July.

SoftBank invested $200m in InMobi, according to a 15 September 2011 announcement. That helped the company become India’s first unicorn – a startup with a valuation of USD 1bn, InMobi’s website states.

Sherpalo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Beyers are the India-based advertising technology company’s private equity investors, according to InMobi’s website. Google is an investor in InMobi subsidiary Glance.

Founded in 2007 in Mumbai and headquartered in Singapore, InMobi is a consumer technology company that offers digital advertising, according to its website. InMobi has two main businesses, Glance and InMobi Advertising.

Glance is an AI-powered platform that delivers personalized content and entertainment on smartphones. InMobi Advertising offers data-driven digital marketing and advertising for brands.

SeaTown declined to comment. InMobi, Investec, Varde and Elham did not respond to requests for comment.