Category: Startup Newsletter

VP Weekly | 22nd Sept ’19

September 22, 2019

Mobile value-added services firm OnMobile to sell a minority stake to Jump Networks
Jump Networks, which provides digital services to low-bandwidth mobile phone users, will acquire an 18% stake in mobile value-added services provider OnMobile Global for $207 Mn.
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Rana Kapoor family firm pares stake in Yes Bank
Morgan Credits, owned by Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor’s family, has sold a 2.3% stake for $47 Mn in the private-sector lender.

               Startup News Snippets

                                                           M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

The translation of intellectual ‘strategy’​ to ground-level ‘execution’​ for early-stage ventures. Here are my views highlighting a permanent hurdle faced by every startup.

–Abhishek

 

Market Pulse

  • France-based multinational advertising and public relations company Havas Group has acquired Indian digital agency Langoor for an undisclosed amount
  • Agra-based business-to-business marketplace for leather products ShoeKonnect will raise $1.5 Mn Series C funding from India’s premier Internet-based business, Info Edge
  • The Government of Karnataka in association with NASSCOM and ecosystem partners, Startup Karnataka, TIE and THE GAIN launched ‘Bangalore Fintech Forum’
  • Mumbai-based VC Lightbox Ventures closed its third India-focused investment fund at $209 Mn. The fund’s closing amount is slightly higher than the fund’s initial target of $200 Mn
  • Microsoft India will launch “Highway to a Hundred Unicorns” program in collaboration with the Industries Commissionerate and iNDEXTb, Government of Gujarat
  • Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Vertex Ventures closes its $305 Mn early-stage fund focused on investing in Indian and Southeast Asian technology startups
  • Early-stage investor Kae Capital will raise its third venture capital fund of $60 Mn. With the new funding, the company is expected to increase its funding ticket size

VP Weekly | 15th Sept '19

September 15, 2019

Flipkart Gets $225 Mn Boost Ahead Of Festive Season Sales
Walmart-owned Flipkart has received $224.9 Mn infusions from its Singapore-based entity, Flipkart Private Limited.
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CPPIB Invests $115 Mn In Logistics Unicorn Delhivery
Gurugram-based eCommerce logistics startup Delhivery has raised $115 Mn in fresh funding from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Following this investment, CPPIB will have one seat on Delhivery’s Board.
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                                               Startup News Snippets

                                                              M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Early-stage venture investment firm Good Capital announced a $25 Mn fund. The venture fund, founded by brothers Rohan and Arjun Malhotra
  • Mumbai-based audio streaming platform JioSaavn received $19 Mn from Reliance Industries. Reliance’s Jio Music and Saavn combined valuation was $1 Bn at the time of the merger
  • Delhi-based agritech-focused incubator Indigram Labs announced the launch of Adhunik Gram, a smart village program to empower agribusinesses in India
  • Entrepreneur-turned-investor Binny Bansal is now planning to roll out a venture capital fund to target a corpus of $300-$400 Mn. The fund’s primary focus will be on Indian startups
  • Reliance Industries is planning to fund and are scouting around for all technology available for waste segregation, recycling, and waste to energy
  • Pune-based food maker and delivery app Rebel Foods will raise $73 Mn Series D funding from New York-based technology hedge fund Coatue Management
  • Venture capital fund Chiratae Ventures is all set for the first close of its fourth India-focussed fund at $150 Mn. The venture fund plans to raise $275 Mn for the fund

VP Weekly | 8th Sept '19

September 8, 2019

NCLT approves JSW’s $2.7-bn bid for Bhushan Power & Steel
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved billionaire Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel Ltd’s offer of $2.7 Bn to buy debt-laden Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd.
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Data Management Company Commvault Acquires SDS Vendor Hedvig For $225 Mn
Data management company Commvault is all set to acquire software-defined storage (SDS) company Hedvig for $225 Mn. The cost includes the purchase price and ongoing employee retention.
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                                                Startup News Snippets

                                                              M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Can the Indian industry and society brace itself against economic downturns in the future? Is it only cyclical, or something more fundamental/structural? Here we share a  different perspective about the Indian economic slowdown.

–Abhishek

 

Market Pulse

  • Early-stage venture fund Chiratae Ventures will raise $20 Mn from a member of the World Bank Group, The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Asia’s largest startup conclave, Huddle Kerala, is returning with its 2nd edition on Sept 27-28 to celebrate the startup ecosystem in one of the most progressive states in the country for startups
  • Gurugram-based eCommerce company Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have come together to set up an investment vehicle, Titan Capital
  • Three months after selling shares worth $76.4 Mn, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal sold additional shares in the company to Tiger Global Management for $14 Mn
  • To offer mentorship guidance to startups in Punjab, YES BANK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government’s Startup Punjab initiative
  • Lightspeed India Partners selected Blackboard Radio, Bakbuck, Deepsync, EazyPG, Gratitude, GroMo, Ithaka, Openapp, Womaniya, and Xeno for Extreme Entrepreneurs 2019
  • French cosmetics giant L’Oreal invested an undisclosed amount in Fireside Fund II, an early-stage venture capital fund managed by Bengaluru-based Fireside Ventures

VP Weekly | 1st Sept '19

September 1, 2019

Gautam Adani-controlled Adani group will acquire Essel’s solar energy projects for $181 Mn
Adani Energy Group on August 29 said, it would acquire 10 solar energy assets with a total generating capacity of 205 MW from Essel Green Energy and Essel Infraprojects for $181 Mn.
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B2B e-commerce marketplace Udaan raises $300 Mn in ongoing Series D round
B2B online marketplace for small and medium businesses Udaan’s Singapore-based parent entity raised funding of $300 million in its on-going Series D round from investors such as Altimeter Capital, Footpath Ventures, GGV Capital, and Hillhouse Capital.
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Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Mumbai-based peer-to-peer lending platform LenDenClub has raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding from Artha Venture Fund With the participation of UAE-based Transworld Group
  • Flipkart Plans To Invest $40 Mn In Logistics Bengaluru-based startup Shadowfax to enhance its doorstep delivery ahead of the festive season
  • India’s largest incubator T-Hub in collaboration with the state government announced a three-month funding acceleration program called T-Angel
  • Hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo has raised $5 Mn funding by issuing debentures as well as Series C1 preference shares to existing investor Alteria Capital
  • Gurugram-based corporate engagement platform Advantage Club has raised $1 Mn in Pre-Series A funding from GrowX Ventures
  • The Union Cabinet announced an easing of foreign direct investment norms across sectors such as retail, manufacturing etc in an effort to get economic growth back on track
  • Chennai-based TNQ Technologies has invested $2 Mn in a joint venture with augmented and virtual reality startup InGage Technologies

VP Weekly | 25th Aug '19

August 25, 2019

RBI Will Now Enable E-Mandate For Recurring Payments Up To $279 Mn
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant payments) with a cap of INR 2,000 from September.
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Grofers receives $70 Mn Series F tranche from Softbank at $567 Mn valuation
Grofers has received another $70 Mn tranche of its Series F funding from SoftBank. The tranche is a part of the grocery delivery app’s $200 Mn funding raised mainly from the SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF).
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                                               Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Fintech company that provides payment technology to online merchants PayU will acquire digital lending platform and short term loan provider PaySense for $60 Mn
  • Pune-based reskilling startup InterviewBit Academy will raise $20 Mn funding from Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital India and Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EBD)
  • American seed accelerator Y Combinator has inducted four Indian startups in its Summer 2019 batch. The selected startups include Binks, Lokal, MyPetrolPump, and Vahan
  • Delhi-headquartered insurance company Max Life Insurance will launch its Max Life Innovation Labs, an accelerator program to harness Insurtech solutions
  • Coliving startup ZoloStays will raise $100 Mn Series C funding from new and existing investors. The new series of funding will be a mix of debt and equity
  • JLL India in collaboration with Invest India, Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations and Startup India will launch JLL IDEAs, a real estate-focused accelerator program
  • The e-commerce unicorn Snapdeal will raise $100 Mn funding from Softbank. SoftBank will invest $60 Mn in series funding

VP Weekly | 18th Aug '19

August 18, 2019

One of the biggest funding this week has been raised by online reseller network Meesho, raising $125 Mn in a round led by Naspers
Bnegaluru based Meesho has raised $125 million in a round led by South Africa’s Naspers with participation from Facebook and existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway
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ShareChat raises $100 million in Series D funding led by Twitter and TrustBridge Partners
A regional social media platform, ShareChat has raised $100 million Series D funding, where Twitter and TrustBridge Partners are two new investors
Read More

           Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Even after years of money-losing startups raising millions of dollars at multi-billion valuations, WeWork filing IPO is something unique of it’s kind. Here is a good note by Senior Contributor | BANKING & INSURANCE – Frances Cappola, on WeWork’s IPO.

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Deloitte is bringing its popular “Morning Pitch” tradition from Japan to the startup ecosystem in India and hosted its seventh edition of Morning Pitch on August 13 in Gurugram
  • Future Group will raise $281 Mn from Amazon against a 10% stake. Both companies have been in talks since last year to align their businesses together through a stake deal
  • Bike taxi startup Rapido will raise $50 Mn funding from domestic firm Westbridge Capital and China’s ShunWei Capital with existing investor Nexus Venture Partners
  • The state government of Jammu and Kashmir to host a three-day global investors summit in Srinagar from October 12 to showcase Jammu and Kashmir’s strengths, strategies and potential
  • ASSOCHAM will launch ‘Startup Elevator Pitch Series’ in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as a platform for budding entrepreneurs to pitch for funding and technology partners
  • Reliance Jio has announced a partnership with the tech giant Microsoft and its Azure cloud vertical to give free Jio connectivity and Jio-Azure cloud services for tech startups in India
  • UK-based gold trading platform, Goledex has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the UK India cross-border fund of Unicorn India called Unicorn Ascension

VP Weekly | 11th Aug '19

August 11, 2019

Uber Loss Touches $5.2 Bn, Even As Revenue Remains Stagnant
Uber just reported its second quarterly earnings ever as a public company, and that’s a lot of red ink. The ride-hailing giant losing a whopping $5.2 billion in the second quarter as compared to $3.7 Bn in the first quarter of 2019.
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UrbanClap Inches Closer To Unicorn Club With Latest $933 Mn ValuationGurugram-headquartered home services startup UrbanClap has inched closer to the unicorn club with its latest $75 Mn Series E funding, part of which has been transferred over to the company. Last week, UrbanClap announced that it has raised $75 Mn led by Tiger Global with participation from existing investors Steadview Capital and Vy Capital.
Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • New Delhi-based online Cricket Fantasy gaming platform BalleBaazi has raised $4 Mn in a Series A funding from Delhi-based Snap Angel Tech and an Singapore-based investor
  • Indore-based agritech startup Gramophone has raised $3.5 Mn from existing investor Info Edge Ventures along with Raveen Sastry, cofounder, Myntra and Asha Impact
  • Credit card bill payment utility app Cred to raise $125 Mn Series A funding which is expected to increase the Cred’s valuation upto $500 Mn
  • WeWork is setting up $6 Bn in financing and looking to borrow in two ways: a $2 Bn letter-of-credit facility and a $4 Bn delayed-draw term loan
  • Telangana’s state-backed startup programme T-Hub has announced the launch of its HealthTech Arcade programme in partnership with Optum
  • Mumbai-based offline pharmacy distributor Ascent Health to raise $100 Mn in an equity financing round from Singapore-backed investment major Temasek Holdings
  • Bengaluru-based news and ebooks mobile app Dailyhunt has raised $3 Mn in a Series F funding from  investment advisor firm Stonebridge Capital

VP Weekly | 4th Aug '19

August 4, 2019

Swiggy To Raise A $750 Mn Funding 
Food delivery unicorn Swiggy is to raise a $700-$750 Mn funding round led by its existing investor Naspers.
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Acquiring Flipkart Made Walmart India’s Leading Retailer
In 2018, Walmart acquired Flipkart for $16 Bn and the deal has now made Walmart a leading retailer in India.
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                                                Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Vision Fund was already path breaking. Now with Vision Fund – II, with another war-chest of $100 Bn+, and backing by Microsoft and Apple, Son is looking to create another wave of disruption globally – this time, in the enterprise tech market. Here is a good note by WSJ on their strategy.

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • B2B online marketplace Udaan to raise $500 Mn in a fresh funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global along with other investors such as Hillhouse Capital and Altimeter Capital
  • Paytm-owned gaming company Paytm First Games to raise $25 Mn from SAIF Partners along with a Hong- Kong based entity
  • Indore based Fintech startup BharatPe to raise $75 Mn funding from Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital. BharatPe also enables merchants to track their transactions, settlements and manage sales record
  • Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India to raise an additional $200 Mn for the same fund closed at a fund corpus of $695 Mn
  • Mumbai-based integrated incubator Venture Catalysts announced the launch of the $43.41 Mn 9Unicorns Fund to high potential early stage businesses across various sectors
  • Poland-headquartered edtech startup Brainly has raised $30 Mn funding from Naspers along with other investers such as Runa Capital and Manta Ray
  • Bengaluru-headquartered e-pharmacy startup Medlife to raise $21 Mn from pharmaceuticals company Cipla, the deal will help Cipla with a significant channel to market


 

VP Weekly | 28th Jul '19

July 28, 2019

Patanjali gets NCLT nod to acquire Ruchi Soya, with conditions
The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Mumbai Bench has approved Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved’s ₹4,350-crore resolution plan for debt-ridden edible oil firm Ruchi Soya, which was kept in abeyance earlier.
Read More
 

Blackstone Might Invest $250 Mn In Kishore Biyani’s Future Group
With a steady eye on the upcoming General Election 2019, the Interim Budget of the BJP government for 2019 will likely be strong on optics and populist measures. While this is still an Interim Budget, with a clear focus on the upcoming General Election, here are the key takeaways of the Union Budget 2019 for the Indian Startup Ecosystem. Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Delhi-based electric rickshaw provider SmartE has raised $14.5Mn  in series B funding from the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and Co
  • Gurugram-based hyperlocal services provider UrbanClap has raised $216 K in fresh funding from ex- Flipkart CTO Mekin Maheshwari and Avaana Capital founder Anjali Bansal
  • Hyderabad-based electric vehicle startup Celestial E- Mobility raised $200K from Meka Sudhakar Reddy. The company is in the advanced stage of developing Electric Tractors
  • Pune-based exam preparation platform Pariksha raised $1 Mn in pre-Series A funding from Venture Catalysts
  • Bengaluru-based cell therapy startup Eyestem has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Jacesa investments, Church Street Trustees and Gillian Corken
  • Mumbai-based P2P lending platform PaisaDukan has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from  JITO Incubation and  Innovation Foundation (JIIF)
  • Bengaluru-based customised apparel and merchandise brand Alma Mater has raised $200 K in its first external funding from Wazir Advisors

VP Weekly | 21 Jul '19

July 21, 2019

OYO Launches Workspaces With Acquisition of Innov8
Gurugram-headquartered hospitality unicorn OYO Hotels and Homes has officially announced its vertical expansion into the coworking real estate segment with the launch of OYO Workspaces.
Read More
 

eBay Acquires Stake In Paytm Mall To Expand India Presence
US-based ecommerce company eBay has announced a strategic partnership with Paytm Mall along with acquiring a 5.5% stake in the Indian ecommerce marketplace.
Read More
                                   
                                                Startup News Snippets

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Entrepreneurial success looks far too easy in newspaper headlines than in reality. Here is a great short-note by IIMB alum, former banker and fund manager at Gaja Capital – Avinash Luthria, on things that aspiring entrepreneurs must evaluate before making the big leap. It does set a high-bar for us 🙂

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested $29 Mn into Ajay Piramal owned Piramal Enterprises
  • Bengaluru-based food delivery unicorn Swiggy is in talks with Korea Investment Partners, Mirae Asset Management, STIC Investments and Neoplux for a $500 Mn funding
  • Mumbai-based venture fund Unicorn India Ventures launched its second equity fund worth $4 Bn. The venture fund will focus on investments in Pre Series A and Series A
  • Delhi-based gaming company WinZO games has announced a $1.5 Mn fund to support game developers and acquire content for the platform
  • Prolific angel investor Sanjay Mehta has now expanded his horizons with setting up a new venture capital firm called 100X.VC
  • Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate, ITC Limited, is now looking to invest directly in Indian startups, with a focus on fast-moving consumer goods
  • Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital is looking to invest $500 Mn in growth-stage companies in India over the next two years

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