Ankiti Bose Case Timeline: Suspended CEO To Repay Zilingo’s $40 Million Debt

Ankiti Bose and chief technology officer Dhruv Kapoor created 'Zilingo', an online fashion startup that delivers technology to apparel merchants and factories, in 2015. The startup began collaborating with financial technology firms in 2018 to provide small sums of money to merchants for the purchase of raw materials and the production of items.  In 2019, the company raised $226 million from Sequoia Capital and Temasek, bringing its valuation to roughly $1 billion.

The company was expected to grow from around $40 million in fiscal 2021 to around $60 million in fiscal 2022 and $100 million the following year. According to reports, Zilingo aims to reach over $200 million in revenue by fiscal 2026. However, Ankiti Bose, Zilingo's co-founder and CEO, who was recently suspended from her role at the B2B e-commerce start-up, is looking into recouping the company's whole $40 million debt. This would apparently provide her with the opportunity to increase her stake in the company.

Here's the Ankiti Bose case timeline:

- On March 31, 2022, its Indian-origin co-founder and CEO, Ankiti Bose was invited to a meeting where she was informed of "severe" accounting irregularities and mismanagement. Later, members of the Kroll investigation firm questioned her.

- However, in April 2022, the company suspended Bose, due to alleged accounting irregularities. In a statement, the B2B Singapore-based online fashion company said its shareholders and board members got evidence about anomalies that required investigation in the previous month, after which large investors were given permission to suspend Bose. According to reports, Bose's suspension was meant to last until May 5.

- According to publicly available documents on the website of Singapore's accounting regulator, the company has yet to file annual returns for 2020 and 2021.

Suggested Reading: Zilingo Case: How Much Debt Will Ankiti Bose Have To Repay?

- Zilingo's creditors opted to recall their entire loan on May 13, prompting the startup to hire financial counsel to assess possibilities for dealing with the default. "Due to Zilingo's failure to fulfil earlier obligations under the loan agreement, the company's lenders have made the decision to accelerate the repayment of the entire loan," the company's board said in a statement the same day.

- She is considering recompensing the company's whole outstanding debt of $40 million, according to recent sources on May 17. According to two people involved in the conversations, this would provide her with the opportunity to obtain additional equity in the company. 

- According to sources, Bose has engaged with a few institutional investors and hedge funds in Singapore and India to raise the $40 million needed to buy back the warrants and pay the remaining principal amount to Varde Partners and Indies Capital in full.

- According to reports, Bose has already sent a term sheet to Varde Partners and Indies Capital to repay the whole due loan amount. While Varde and Indies offered a $40 million loan to Zilingo in July 2021 under Bose's leadership, it is only valid until July 2023.