Corporate Finance Alert- August 2022
Sequoia Capital pares stake in Zomato:
Sequoia Capital India has pared its stake in Zomato Ltd by selling shares in the open market, joining Tiger Global, Uber and Moore Strategic Ventures among investors who have either fully or partially sold their holdings in the online food delivery aggregator in recent weeks. Sequioa, which first invested in Zomato in 2013, sold 171 million shares, or 2.01% stake, in the startup between September 2021 and this August. Sequoia offloaded 66 million shares in Zomato between 6 September and 14 October, adding that the remaining 105 million shares were sold between 27 July and 25 August. Consequently, Sequoia’s stake in Zomato has fallen to 4.4% from 6.41%. Sequoia received 45 million incremental equity shares of Zomato on 10 August following the latter’s acquisition of quick commerce firm Blinkit (formerly Grofers). Sequoia was also an investor in Blinkit.
Here is some latest financial news on private equity, venture capital, and mergers & acquisitions:
- Private Equity:
Kotak’s alternative asset arm floats Rs 1,500 cr fund to invest in other PEs, VCs:
Kotak Investment Advisors Limited (KIAL), announced the launch of its “Fund of Funds (FoF)” to invest in other private equity, venture capital funds. The Kotak India Alternate Allocation Fund targets to raise a corpus of INR 1,500 crore, including a greenshoe option of INR 750 crore. With a minimum investment ranging between USD 5-15 million, the fund’s objective is to diversify across PE/VC funds in multiple sectors, including consumer, technology, healthcare, financials, etc., as well as across multiple stages – including early, growth and late-stage investments.
(Source: VC Circle, 2 August 2022)
ADIA to invest Rs 655 cr in Aditya Birla Health Insurance for 10% stake:
The boards of directors of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd and Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd (ABHI) approved a proposal for a primary capital infusion of approximately INR 665 crore in ABHI, from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Aditya Birla Health Insurance is a 51:49 joint venture between Aditya Birla Capital and Momentum Metropolitan Strategic Investments (Pty) Ltd, wholly-owned subsidiary of South Africa based Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Ltd. The transaction values ABHI at approximately INR 6,650 crore.
(Source: VC Circle, 12 August 2022)
KKR divests entire stake in Max Health marking its biggest Indian exit so far:
US-based private equity giant KKR & Co. Inc made its largest exit from an Indian firm so far by selling its entire promoter stake in Max Healthcare Institute Ltd. in the open market for around INR 9,400 crore. KKR and Abhay Soi have been holding 27.54% and 23.09% stake in Max Healthcare as the latter’s two co-promoters. Post the KKR deal, Soi will remain as the sole promoter of Max Healthcare.
(Source: VC Circle, 17 August 2022)
Byju’s to settle Blackstone dues for Akash deal in Sept:
Byju’s had agreed to acquire Aakash Educational Services in April 2021 in a USD 950-million cash and stock deal, and made partial payments to its shareholders. In all, Blackstone was to receive USD 400 million, around USD 220 million has been paid to Blackstone, with USD 180 million pending. Edtech unicorn Byju’s is likely to settle dues of USD 180 million to Aakash Educational Services shareholder Blackstone Inc. by September-end.
(Source: VC Circle, 23 August 2022)
Kedaara Capital invests $50 mn in IVF chain Oasis:
South India-based in-vitro fertilization (IVF) chain Oasis Centre for Reproductive Medicine has raised USD 50 million (nearly Rs 400 crore) in an equity round of funding from home-grown private equity fund Kedaara Capital. The transaction has resulted in a complete exit to Invascent, who had invested in Oasis Centre since 2016 and had a 29% stake in the company. Oasis, which was founded in 2009 by Durga G. Rao and Kiran Gadela, had five centres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the time of InvAscent’s investment in 2016.
(Source: VC Circle, 26 August 2022)
Hero Electric hires banker to raise $250 mn:
To expand its capacity to build electric bikes amid fierce competition, Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd is in talks with investors, including sovereign funds, to fundraise around USD 250 million. The company has hired Jefferies Group to manage the fundraising. India’s electric two-wheeler market has become crowded, with Hero Electric, one of the country’s oldest such companies, competing with Ola Electric, Ather Energy (backed by Hero MotoCorp), Ampere, TVS Motor, Okinawa Autotech, Euler Motors, Simple Energy and Bajaj Auto, among others.
(Source: VC Circle, 26 August 2022)
- Venture Capital:
Dry fruit brand Farmley raises Series A funding from DSG, Alkemi, others:
New Delhi-based startup, Farmley founded by IIT graduates Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal in 2017, which operates nuts and dry fruit has secured USD 6 million (around INR 45 crore) as a part of its Series A funding round co-led by Singapore-based venture capital firm DSG Consumer Partners and Alkemi Ventures, with existing investors Omnivore, Insitor Partners and other angel investors. The raised capital will be used for channel expansion as well as for building its team and brand.
(Source: VC Circle, 05 August 2022)
UpGrad pockets $210 mn in fresh funding:
Unicorn ed-tech startup upGrad has secured USD 210 million (around INR 1,638 crore) in a fresh round of funding from a clutch of investors including ETS Global, Bodhi Tree (a JV of James Murdoch and Uday Shankar) and Singapore’s Kaizen Management Advisors Pvt. Ltd. The funding round was participated by Bharti Airtel’s family office, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office (Ambuja Cements and ACC), and Artian Investments (Family Office of Lakshmi Mittal – ArcelorMittal), with existing investors Temasek, IFC and IIFL.
(Source: VC Circle, 08 August 2022)
RPSG Capital Ventures marks first exit with 7x returns:
An early-stage consumer focused venture capital (VC) firm, RPSG Capital Ventures, has made its first exit from its debut fund by selling its entire stake in True Elements to consumer goods major Marico. It invested in True Elements four years ago, made about 7x returns on its investment from the exit.
(Source: VC Circle, 08 August 2022)
Tiger Global leads Series A round in fintech startup Jodo:
Bharosepe Technology Services Pvt. Ltd, which operates educational payments startup Jodo, raised USD 15 million (around INR 118.5 crore) led by Tiger Global. The funding round was also participated from existing investors, Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India, from whom Jodo has previously raised USD 4 million. The raised capital will be used to accelerate product innovation and sales, and further grow the Jodo team. Currently, the company has over 150 employees.
(Source: VC Circle, 09 August 2022)
CleverTap to raise $105 mn in Series D:
A business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for customer engagement and retention, CleverTap run by WizRocket Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has signed a definitive pact to raise USD 105 million (INR 832 crore) in its Series D funding round led by Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). CDPQ has committed to invest USD 75 million. IIFL AMC’s Tech Fund and existing investors Tiger Global and Sequoia India also participated. The raised capital will be used to strengthen its presence in key markets and also expand its team.
(Source: VC Circle, 10 August 2022)
Razorpay to pick up controlling stake in Ezetap:
Digital payments solutions unicorn, Razorpay will pick up controlling stake in Bengaluru-based payment solutions provider, Ezetap Mobile Solutions for USD 126 million (INR 1,000 crore) in a cash-and-stock deal. Out of the amount mentioned above, USD 100 million will be a cash transaction, while the remaining would be in equity. Initially started in the fintech space by processing card payments on mobile phones. However, the company pivoted to a bank partnership model and this turned around the fortunes of the company.
(Source: VC Circle, 16 August 2022)
Coffeee.io, Finverv, The Health Factory raise early-stage funding:
Gurugram-based Gong Labs Pvt. Ltd, which operates tech recruitment platform Coffeee.io, has secured pre-seed funding of Rs 4.7 crore (around USD 590,000) from a clutch of angel investors and networks. The funding round was participated by Supermorpheus, Lets Venture, Kunal Shah (founder at Cred), Prabhu R (founder at M2P), Amit Lakhotia (founder at Park+), Vikas Garg (CFO at Paytm), Pratekk Agarwal (ex-Bharatpe, serial entrepreneur), Chinmaya Sharma (partner at Info Edge) and Rameez Menon (MD at Oxbridge Capital). The raised capital will be used scale its operations.
(Source: VC Circle, 18 August 2022)
- Mergers & Acquisition:
William Penn Acquires Premium Fountain Pen Maker Sheaffer:
William Penn has acquired Sheaffer, a 110-year-old iconic American brand, particularly famous for its premium fountain pens. The multi-brand retailer and distributor of writing instruments and accessories acquired the brand from A.T. Cross Company inclusive of complete product portfolio and licenses, including premium pens, journals, and gift sets.
(Source: VC Circle, 09 August 2022)
JSW Energy Arm Acquires Mytrah Energy For EV Of Rs 10,530 Cr:
JSW Energy Ltd’s subsidiary, JSW Neo Energy, has acquired a portfolio of 1,753 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy generation capacity from Mytrah Energy (India) Pvt. Ltd, for an enterprise valuation of approximately INR 10,530 crore. The transaction is yet to receive a nod from CCI.
(Source: VC Circle, 10 August 2022)
Accel-Backed Orange Health Acquires Gurugram-Based Diagnostic Lab Rapidx:
Gurugram-based diagnostic lab Rapidx has been acquired by Healthtech startup Orange Health. Orange Health aims to widen its presence in the NCR region along with its flagship service – 60-minutes collection and 6 hour reporting in the northern region.
(Source: VC Circle, 10 August 2022)
Upskilling Platform BrightChamps Marks First Overseas Acquisition:
BrightChamps Tech Pvt. Ltd, which offers new-age online courses such as programming, artificial intelligence, design thinking, and financial literacy, has bought Singapore-based live-learning platform Schola for USD 15 million in a cash-and-stock deal, marking the company’s first overseas acquisition since its inception.
(Source: VC Circle, 24 August 2022)
Hudson RPO Acquires HR Platform Hunt & Badge To Expand India Footprint:
Hudson RPO, the global total talent solutions platform operated by Hudson Global Inc., acquired Hunt&Badge Consulting Pvt Ltd in a cash deal. This acquisition will be instrumental in expanding the footprint in Indian market.
Source: VC Circle, 30 August 2022)