Nasdaq-listed Yatra raises $15.4 mn in debt from Innoven Capital

Nasdaq-listed online travel portal Yatra has raised $15.4 million in debt from Innoven Capital, making it the largest venture debt deal to be closed by an Indian company so far.

The capital will be used to meet working capital needs of Yatra as the company looks to expand its service offerings for Indian customers. In July the company acquired Air Travel Bureau Ltd., a corporate travel service provider, giving it a strong position in India’s B2B travel segment.

“We are very happy to partner again with InnoVen in the largest venture debt deal for any Indian business. After having raised US$92 million through our Nasdaq listing in December 2016, this debt funding provides us additional capital for our growth needs,” said Alok Vaish, Group CFO at Yatra, in a statement.

Innoven had made a previous investment of $4 million in Yatra in 2014, which was fully paid back when the company listed on NASDAQ. 

For Innoven, the deal marks the first step in signing larger deals. Typically the investor has written out $4-5 million cheques to companies. The investment in Yatra is split, with half the capital coming from Innoven’s India arm, while the other half was provided by the company’s Southeast Asian arm.

“Their needs were greater than what we typically do, but because we had built a relationship with them over the years we felt comfortable and were able to put together our largest deal to date. They’re going to need it for their working capital needs,” said Chin Chao, Interim CEO for India at Innoven Capital.

The deal is typical of what’s seen in the venture debt sector and has a term of 30 months. Chao added that Innoven is now looking at similar deals in larger companies rather than restricting itself to participating in Series A and B rounds. Moreover, the company says it will use its cross-border funding capabilities to help companies with capital to scale.

“What we realised in India is that the venture debt value proposition isn’t only for smaller companies. As these companies grow, their working capital requirements grow, they don’t disappear. We’ve seen many of our early stage companies come back to us and ask us if we can provide them with debt,” added Chao.