Corporate Finance Alert

Sources of Elon Musk’s funding offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion:

After the Social networking platform, Twitter Inc agreed to Elon Musk’s “best and final” offer of USD 44 billion. Musk increased his financing commitment to USD 27.25 billion, from USD 21 billion – including the new USD 7.14 billion funding from Oracle Corp’s co-founder Larry Ellison, Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Binance.com, and a bunch of investors. Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, who sits on Tesla’s board, agreed to put in $1 billion. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance.com, promised $500 million. Margin loan from Morgan Stanley tied to his Tesla stocks currently stands at USD 6.25 billion. Musk has also secured commitments from a consortium of banks for USD 13 billion in loans secured against Tesla shares.

Here is some latest financial news on private equity, venture capital, and mergers & acquisitions:

• Private Equity:

Nithia Capital acquires stressed steel firm for $80 mn:

Nithia Capital, a global advisory and investment firm that specializes in turning around heavy asset-backed underperforming industries has acquired Crest Steel and Power Pvt Ltd (Crest) for a total consideration of over INR 600 crore (USD 80 million). Crest’s business revolves around the manufacturing of iron and steel, which offers products such as sponge iron, pellets, billets, TMT bars, wire rods, and captive power plants.

(Source: VC Circle, 05 April 2022)

KKR to acquire 9.99% stake in Shriram General Insurance:

Leading global PE firm KKR acquired 9.99% stake in Shriram General Insurance for INR 1,800 crore (USD 237 million). The transaction valued the business at approximately INR 18,000 crore. Shriram General Insurance (SGI) is a joint venture between Shriram Capital and South Africa’s Sanlam Limited. After the deal is completed, Sanlam Group would own 23% stake, KKR will hold 9.99% stake and the remaining will be held by Shriram Capital.

(Source: VC Circle, 11 April 2022)

Kinara Capital raises Rs 380 cr from two new investors led by Nuveen Impact Fund:

Bengaluru-based collateral-free MSME loans provider Kinara Capital raised INR 380 crore (USD 50 million) from two global investors, Nuveen Global Impact Fund and Triple Jump. The raised capital will be used for the expansion of the company’s products and services. Since its inception in 2011 company’s total equity funding is USD 80 million.

(Source: VC Circle, 19 April 2022)

ADIA to pick up 10% stake in HDFC Capital:

Mortgage lender HDFC has sold its 10 percent stake in HDFC Capital Advisors to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for about INR 184 crore (USD 24.1 million). Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is a globally-diversified investment institution of the Government of Abu Dhabi. HDFC Capital manages around USD 3 billion funding platform.

(Source: VC Circle, 21 April 2022)

InvAscent invests Rs 250 cr in bulk drugs firm Malladi:

Chennai-based drugs maker Malladi Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd have raised INR 250 crore for a minority stake from Health-care focused mid-market private equity firm InvAscent. The raised capital will be used for the expansion of manufacturing capacity and to launch new molecules. Malladi was founded in 1980 by M.L.N Shastry, a pioneering microbiologist with expertise in fermentation technology and is engaged in the business of manufacturing & selling of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates.

(Source: VC Circle, 25 April 2022)

AI consulting startup Navikenz raises $4 mn in seed funding:

Navikenz, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) consulting company, has raised USD 4 million (INR 30 crore) in its seed round. The funding round was led by prominent investors Sudip Nandy, ex-CEO of Aricent and Sekar and P R Chandrasekar, the former chief executive of Hexaware. Navikenz was started by co-founder of Mindtree and former CEO of Birlasoft and Sasken Tech, Anjan Lahiri. Navikenz specializes in artificial intelligence-based solutions such as cloud, business process consulting, enterprise architecture, and data science capabilities.

(Source: VC Circle, 26 April 2022)

• Venture Capital:

Phablecare raises Rs 187 cr from Kalaari Capital, Aflac, others:

Bengaluru-based Phablecare, a chronic disease management startup, which offers a slew of services to patients, doctors, and hospitals through its app has raised INR 187 crore (USD 24.6 million) in a funding round from Kalaari Capital. The funding round was also participated by Aflac Ventures, Digital Horizon, and Stride Ventures. Phablecare was founded in 2017 by Sumit Sinha, Prashanth Reddy, and Mukesh Bansal. The raised capital will be used to develop the chronic care ecosystem, accelerate market expansion, customer acquisitions and build new revenue streams.

(Source: VC Circle, 11 April 2022)

Stellaris Venture leads $4.2 mn seed round in AI chatbot firm LimeChat:

Artificial intelligence-based chatbot startup, LimeChat which is owned and operated by Wavicle Technologies Pvt Ltd has raised USD 4.2 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners. The funding round was also participated by Pi Ventures, and Titan Capital. The raised capital will be used to strengthen its product and expand its go-to-market operations. LimeChat was founded in 2020 by Aniket Bajpai and Nikhil Gupta. It is an AI chatbot platform for direct-to-customer (D2C) brands for conversational marketing.

(Source: VC Circle, 12 April 2022)

Sequoia leads $3.4 mn funding in fintech firm Hubble:

Fintech startup Hubble which offers rewarding saving plans with leading lifestyle brands through its mobile app has secured USD 3.4 million (around INR 26 crore) in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The funding round was participated by angel investors including Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal) and Sateesh Andra (Endiya Partners). The raised capital will be used for building a robust decentralized savings infrastructure to power its consumer-facing applications, onboarding leading Indian and global brands onto its platform, and hiring talent.

(Source: VC Circle, 14 April 2022)

CoinDCX is valued at $2.15 bn after raising $135 mn from Pantera, Coinbase, others:

Cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinDCX has secured USD 135 million (around INR 1,000 crore) in Series D funding led by Pantera and Steadview at the valuation of USD 2.15 billion. The round was participated by Kingsway, DraperDragon, Republic, and Kindred, with existing investors including Coinbase, Polychain B Capital Group, and Cadenza. CoinDCX was the first Indian crypto startup to attain unicorn status.

(Source: VC Circle, 19 April 2022)

Varde Partners invests Rs 440 cr debt in Omaxe:

Omaxe, a real estate development company raised INR 440 crore in form of debt from Varde Partners a leading global alternative investment firm. The raised capital will be used to expedite the construction and delivery of its projects as well as for expansion. Omaxe has a presence in 27 cities across 8 states and has a diversified product portfolio including hi-tech townships, group housing, integrated townships, office spaces, shopping malls, and a hotel.  

(Source: VC Circle, 26 April 2022)

Turtlemint raises $120 mn in Series E led by Amansa, Jungle Ventures, Nexus:

Turtlemint Insurance Services Pvt Ltd has raised USD 120 million (around INR 918 crore) in a Series E round led by Amansa Capital, Jungle Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners at the valuation of USD 900 million. The funding round was participated by Vitruvian Partners and Marshall Wace, along with other existing investors. The raised capital will be used to expand in new geographies and strengthen its product stack.

(Source: VC Circle, 29 April 2022)

Temasek Holdings commits $162.5 mn in Zomato-backer Info Edge’s three funds:

The Singapore government’s private equity fund Temasek invests USD 162.5 million (INR 1,245 crore) in three funds owned by Info Edge (India) Ltd. Mumbai based Info Edge was started in 1997 owns portals such as Naukri.com, real estate portal 99acres.com, matrimonial website Jeevansathi and education services portal Shiksha and has offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain focused on the Middle East market.

 (Source: VC Circle, 28 April 2022)

• Mergers & Acquisition:

MakeMyTrip’s fintech arm picks up majority stake in BookMyForex:

Travel company MakeMyTrip’s fin-tech arm TripMoney has acquired a majority stake in online foreign currency exchange service provider BookMyForex at an undisclosed amount. BookMyForex offers services such as currency exchange with real-time exchange rates, multi-currency prepaid forex cards, and cross-border remittances.

(Source: VC Circle, 05 April 2022)

Bandhan Financial, ChrysCap, GIC to acquire IDFC Mutual Fund for Rs 4,500 cr:

IDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd, which manages mutual fund assets worth about INR 1.3 trillion is set to be acquired by a consortium comprising Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, GIC and ChrysCapital for INR 4,500 crore. Bandhan Bank will be funding 60% of the investment while ChrysCapital and GIC will invest 20% each to acquire the mutual fund business entirely from the shareholders of IDFC Ltd.

(Source: VC Circle, 06 April 2022)

BlackRock, Mubadala to invest $526 million in Tata Power’s renewable energy unit:

BlackRock Real Assets and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company invested INR 40 billion (USD 525.76 million) in Tata Power’s renewable energy unit for a 10.53% stake. The base equity valuation of the company is INR 340 billion and the investment is done through equity or compulsorily convertible instruments.

(Source: VC Circle, 14 April 2022)

Nykaa goes weekend shopping, acquires stakes in 3 companies:

Falguni Nayar-led Fashion and beauty retailer Nykaa, has invested about INR 50 crore to acquire stake in Earth Rhythm, Nudge Wellness, and Kica. The company bought 18.51% stake in clean beauty brand Earth Rhythm, formerly known as Soapworks India for INR 41.7 crore, 60% stake in dietary supplement brand Nudge Wellness for INR 3.6 crore, and 100% stake in the activewear athleisure brand Kica for INR 4.5 crore.

(Source: VC Circle, 22 April 2022)

Adani Ports acquires 100% stake in marine services company Ocean Sparkle:

The Adani Group will acquire India’s largest third-party m marine services provider, Ocean Sparkle Ltd (OSL) through one of its subsidiary companies The Adani Harbour Services Ltd (TAHSL). The company has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of 100% stake in OSL, for INR 1,530 crore (USD 200 million). OSL facilitates activities such as towage, pilotage, and dredging. The company was established in 1995 by a group of marine technocrats with Mr. P Jairaj Kumar as the Chairman and MD.

(Source: VC Circle, 22 April 2022)

Wipro acquires SAP consulting company for $540 mn:

Global IT and consulting firm Wipro has agreed to acquire Rizing Intermediate Holdings, Inc., a SAP consulting firm, for USD 540 million. After the acquisition, Rizing will operate as a Wipro unit under the leadership of its current chief executive Mike Maiolo. Rizing has more than 1,300 employees in 16 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

(Source: VC Circle, 27 April 2022)