Reliance Industries acquires British icon Stoke Park for $79 mn

Reliance Industries has acquired UK-based Stoke Park Limited for $79 million (£57 million). Stoke Park owns and manages sporting and leisure facilities in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, UK. The facilities include a hotel, conference facilities, sports facilities and one of the highest rated golf courses in Europe. The acquisition will add to the consumer and hospitality footprint of Reliance. The firm already holds investments in EIH Ltd (Oberoi Hotels) and is developing a convention centre, hotel and managed residences in BKC Mumbai.

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

Private Equity

NIIF private equity fund enters healthcare with investment in Manipal Hospitals:
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has invested Rs 2,100 crore ($286.7 million) in multispeciality chain Manipal Hospitals. The investment was made via NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund, the quasi sovereign wealth fund’s direct private equity vehicle.

(Source: VC Circle 1 April, 2021)

IFC to invest up to $20 mn in Faering Capital’s third private equity fund:
World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed to invest up to $20 million (Rs 150 crore) in the third fund of mid-market private equity firm Faering Capital Advisors. The investment will be capped at 20% of the final fund size.

(Source: VC Circle 14April, 2021)

World Bank’s International Finance Corp plans to invest in MedGenome: International Finance Corp (IFC) has proposed to invest up to $16.5 million (Rs 123 crore) in a genomics-based diagnostics and research firm. IFC’s investment will help MedGenome to expand its diagnostics business in India and other emerging markets. The funding will also help in the growth of the research business. 

(Source: VC Circle 16April, 2021)

World Bank’s IFC to invest in Everstone’s largest fund: World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed to invest in homegrown private equity firm Everstone’s largest ever fund. The investment will be capped at 20% of the final fund size, with proposed equity investment of $50 million and co-investment of $10 million.

(Source: VC Circle 19April, 2021)

CDPQ leads growth funding round in data protector Druva: Cloud backup and data protection firm Druva Inc has raised $147 million (Rs 1,094 crore) as part of its growth round led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

(Source: VC Circle 19April, 2021)

Swiss firm Corinth to invest $100 mn in Burnol owner Morepen: Pharmaceutical entity Morepen Group, owner of Burnol ointment, will get $100 million funding (about Rs 750 crore) from Switzerland-based private investment firm Corinth Group. The funds will be used for expanding its diagnostics device business and research and development facilities, Morepen said in a filing.

(Source: VC Circle 28April, 2021)

Venture Capital

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 leads $300 mn funding round in Meesho: Bengaluru headquartered Fashnear Technologies, which runs social ecommerce platform Meesho, has raised $300 million (Rs 2,201 crore as per current exchange rates) in a growth funding round, valuing the company at $2.1 billion. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which is yet to announce a final close. The company will use the fresh capital to build an ecommerce platform for small businesses to operate on Meesho. It will also hire talent across technology, product and business.

(Source: VC Circle 05April, 2021)

Global investors pump Series B money in neo-banking startup StashFin: Neo-banking startup StashFin has raised $40 million in its Series B round of funding from a clutch of global investors. The company aims to utilise the capital to pursue neo-banking across South Asia, double down on its plan to grow in existing markets, and strengthen the customer platform for local languages.

(Source: VC Circle 05April, 2021)

Inventus Capital leads Series B funding in toy maker PlayShifu: Bengaluru-based educational toy maker PlayShifu has raised $17 million (Rs 124.5 crore) as part of its Series B round led by existing investor Inventus Capital India.

(Source: VC Circle 06April, 2021)

Cred makes the unicorn club in Series D round led by Falcon Edge, Coatue: Credit card payment platform Cred has entered the unicorn club by raising $215 million (Rs 1,578 crore) in its Series D round led by new investor Falcon Edge Capital and existing backer Coatue Management.The transaction has valued the company at $2.2 billion, making it a unicorn.

(Source: VC Circle 06April, 2021)

Investment platform Groww joins unicorn club with Tiger Global-led round: Investment platform Groww has vaulted to the unicorn club after raising $83 million (Rs 618 crore) in its Series D round led by Tiger Global Management. The capital will help Groww to invest in new products, hire more professionals and continue building its financial education platforms. 

(Source: VC Circle 07 April, 2021)

General Catalyst leads Series C funding in Spinny; seed, pre-seed investors to exit: Pre-owned cars platform Spinny has raised $65 million (Rs 481.7 crore) as part of its Series C round from new and existing investors. A portion of the fresh capital will be used to facilitate exits for a few seed and pre-seed-stage investors. Money will also be deployed to launch new business categories and build teams across functions.

(Source: VC Circle 08April, 2021)

Byju’s touches $15 bnvaluation with second tranche of Series F fundraise:Edtech firm Byju’s has raised over $455 million (Rs 3,328 crore) in the second tranche of its Series F fundraise, the move reportedly bumping up its valuation to $15 billion (about Rs 1.13 lakh crore). 

(Source: VC Circle 13April, 2021)

Razorpay triples valuation to $3 bn with fundraise, eyes launch in Southeast Asia:Razorpay has raised $160 million (Rs 119 crore) as the fintech firm looks to scale up its business banking unit, with the new funding round tripling the company’s valuation to $3 billion (about Rs 7,490 crore).The capital would also be used to invest in new deals and to launch in Southeast Asia, the payments and business banking platform. 

 (Source: VC Circle 19April, 2021)

Fireside Ventures leads pre-Series A funding in digital therapeutics firm Fitterfly: Health-tech startup Fitterfly Technologies Pvt Ltd has raised $3.1 million (Rs 22 crore) in its pre-Series A round of funding led by consumer-focused venture capital firm Fireside Ventures. 

 (Source: VC Circle 21April, 2021)

Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency raises $50 mn via equity and debt: Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt Ltd (NAFA) has raised about $50 million via a mix of equity financing and external commercial borrowing (ECB). The proceeds will be used for business expansion. They will also help the company to improve margins by bringing down the overall cost of funds.

(Source: VC Circle 26April, 2021)

Mergers & Acquisition

JSW Steel completes purchase of Welspun unit:Billionaire Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Steel has completed the acquisition of Welspun Corp’s steel plates and coil mills division for Rs 848.5 crore, subject to closing adjustments towards net working capital.

(Source: VC Circle 01April, 2021)

Coforge to pick 80% stake in BPM firm SLK Global:Coforge (previously known as NIIT Technologies) will acquire 35% of the company and 25% will be purchased within 23 business days, aggregating to 60% for a consideration of Rs 918.3 crore, as per a stock market disclosure. The remaining 20% will be purchased after two years. The acquisition is expected to further strengthen Coforge’s financial services business, scale BPM operations, and expand its US footprint.

(Source: VC Circle 12April, 2021)

Tech Mahindra buys California-based DigitalOnUs for $120 mn: Tech Mahindra has acquired California-based DigitalOnUs in an all-cash deal for $120 million (Rs 897 crore) as it looks to boost its hybrid-cloud offerings for enterprise customers globally. The deal will strengthen its cloud native development and scale up nearshore delivery from Mexico and Canada, which could be used to execute digital transformation programmes. 

(Source: VC Circle 20April, 2021)

Gayatri Highways to buy 49% stake in HKR Roadways: Gayatri Highways will acquire a 48.97% stake in HKR Roadways for Rs 120.5 crore ($16.2 million).HKR Roadways operates as a special purpose company. It works on design, construction, development, finance, operation and maintenance services. 

(Source: VC Circle 28April, 2021)