Page 11 - Funding

NHAI plans tunnel at Laxmi Dungri in Odisha's Sambalpur, receives Rs 37 cr

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) received Rs 37 crore for construction of a tunnel at Laxmi Dungri, a reserve forest in Sambalpur district, official sources said. The tunnel's objective is to check disruption of traffic movement due to landslides on NH-53 connecting Mumbai and Kolkata. Project Director, NHAI, Sambalpur, K. Nageswar Rao said the geotechnical survey for the construction of the tunnel is underway. Stating that the plan and design will be prepared once the survey is completed, Rao said the tunnel will be constructed on one section of the four-lane highway. If everything goes according to plan, work will commence by September, he said, adding that the primary objective of the tunnel is safety of passengers travelling on NH-53. Laxmi Dungri has experienced several landslides, which have impacted traffic movement on NH-53 since September 2007.

Lupin gets $25 mn from AbbVie for meeting key product development milestone

Drug firm Lupin on Thursday said it has received USD 25 million (around Rs 205 crore) from AbbVie Inc for meeting a key development milestone for a product to treat hematological cancers. The company has achieved a key milestone for its novel MALT1 (Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma Translocation Protein 1) inhibitor program that is partnered with AbbVie Inc towards treatment across a range of hematological cancers, the Mumbai-based drug maker said in a statement. As part of the agreement, Lupin has received USD 25 million from AbbVie for initiation of Phase 1 clinical studies successfully, it added. The drug maker had earlier received USD 30 million from AbbVie for achievement of other milestones in the programme. "This achievement is further validation of our ability to successfully develop novel treatments for unmet needs. We look forward to continued successful development of this important treatment for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers," Lupin Managing Directo

Venture capital Omnivore announces first close of 3rd fund at $150 mn

Venture capital firm Omnivore on Wednesday announced the first close of its third fund for agri-tech and climate sustainability at USD 150 million. Investors of the first close include KfW, Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, FMO, SIFEM, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Inclusive Agritech Facility, Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), and Yara Growth Ventures. "We are pleased to announce the first close of the Omnivore Agritech and Climate Sustainability Fund at USD 150 million," Omnivore, Managing Partner, Mark Kahn said in a statement. The Omnivore Agritech & Climate Sustainability Fund was launched in April 2022 with a focus on startups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate and the rural economy. Omnivore expects to make 25-30 new investments in Seed and Series A rounds of agritech startups and

Fintech firm Scapia raises $9 mn in funding round led by Matrix Partners

Fintech firm Scapia has raised USD 9 million (about Rs 74 crore) in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India for scaling up its co-branded credit card business, the company said on Wednesday. Tanglin Venture Partners, Binny Bansal's 3STATE Ventures and notable angel investors such as Keki Mistry (HDFC CEO) also participated in the funding round. Scapia is a travel fintech company on a mission to make travel accessible through its suite of financial products. It has launched co-branded credit card in partnership with Federal Bank which has been developed to target travelers. "We are excited to partner with our investors to help us scale and meet these customer needs. We see a massive opportunity for Scapia - less than 5 per cent of the population currently have credit cards and India is projected to have 200 million credit cards in circulation by 2030," Scapia, Founder Anil Gotetti said. The company has also built a travel platform within the app to enable customers to ...

EV firm Oben raises Rs 40 cr in pre-Series A, will start deliveries in July

EV startup Oben Electric on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 40 crore in an extended pre-series A round and also announced it will start delivering its electric motorcycle Rorr to customers in Bengaluru from next month. The company has so far secured a total funding of Rs 88 crore, including Rs 72 crore (both in equity and debt) in the pre-Series A round, Oben said in a statement. The capital infusion will help the company in scaling up its production capacity at the Bengaluru facility to 100,000 units per year as well as meet the working capital requirements for distribution expansion, it said. The Bengaluru-based EV startup which has a distribution network across major cities in the country, plans to meet the demand of 21,000 pre-orders by scaling up its manufacturing capacity, the company said. The funding round attracted both Institutional investors such as Stride Ventures and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), along with new investors including Mumbai Angels and

Govt starts process to fund state refiners' green goals via equity: Reports

The Oil Ministry on Wednesday asked state-controlled Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) to launch rights issues

Pet food start-up Drools raises $60 mn in funding from L Catterton

Infusion amounts to 10% of firm's valuation; Drools currently has 38% market share in Indian pet food market and exports to 22 countries

PE/VCs investment in India falls 44% to $3.5 billion, says report

The dedicated funds had invested $6.2 billion in May 2022 and $7.4 billion in the preceding month of April 2023, representing a dip of 44 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively

IIT Madras raises Rs 231 cr in funding from alumni, firms, donors in FY23

Donations help premier institute to build 'Centres of Excellence' and provide scholarships and fellowships

Everest Fleet raises $20 mn to build capacity in Uber-led funding round

Firm operates in shared mobility space, is a partner to top ridesharing companies such as Uber and Ola, plans to add 10,000 EVs to existing fleet

22% of funding for start-ups went to those in Tier-II, -III cities in 2022

Funding in Tier-I cities is dominated by big players, while smaller cities have less competition - an attractive prospect for smaller investors

Cloud-lending startup Lentra raises $27 million in extended Series B round

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and investment firm Dharana Capital led the funding

Koparo to raise $1.5 mn in Pre-Series A round led by Saama Capital

Koparo, a home and personal hygiene D2C brand, on Tuesday announced to raise USD 1.5 million (about 12.38 crore) in a Pre Series A round led by Saama Capital. The co-investors are Fluid Ventures and Singapore-based M Venture Partners, along with some angel investors. "The funds raised to be used for offline launch, brand building and product innovation," a statement from Koparo said. Koparo offers a portfolio of over 15 products and 30-plus SKUs across core cleaning, speciality cleaning and accessories. It has experienced remarkable growth in the past 12 months, with revenues growing 10X since its last funding round.

Anil Agarwal's Vedanta raises about $850 million via JPMorgan, Oaktree loan

Investors have been closely watching Vedanta's debt load as rising interest rates worldwide intensify pressure on low-rated borrowers

Physis Capital announces first close of $50 mn fund for start-ups

Fund aims to build a portfolio of 15-20 start-ups, with an average ticket size of $2.5 million

Torrent Power board to consider plan to raise up to Rs 3,000 cr via NCDs

Torrent Power board will consider a proposal to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore through the issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis. A meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled to be held on Monday, May 29, 2023, to consider and approve the raising of funds by issuance of non-convertible debentures up to Rs 3,000 crore through private placement basis, a BSE filing showed. The board will also consider and approve audited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2023, and recommendation of final dividend, if any, on the equity shares of the company for FY 2022-23.

JSW Steel plans to raise up to Rs 17,000 cr; $1 bn from int'l markets

JSW Steel on Friday said its board has approved plans to raise funds up to Rs 17,000 crore through the issuance of various securities and tap the international markets to mop up USD 1 billion. According to a regulatory filing, an amount totalling Rs 17,000 crore is proposed to be raised through the issuance of convertible securities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs), among other instruments. Besides, the board has approved a proposal to raise USD 1 billion through the issuance of non-convertible senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds in the international markets, JSW Steel said. With respect to the plan to mop up Rs 14,000 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures and convertible securities, the company said, it had obtained shareholders' approval in July 2022. "The enabling resolution was not acted upon within the stipulated period of one year. Therefore, in order to validate the said resolution, a fresh approval is being sought from the shareholders at the ensuing Annua

Gail to borrow up to Rs 7,000 cr to fund Rs 10,000 cr capex plan in FY24

Gail India plans to borrow up to Rs 7,000 crore in FY24 to fund the Rs 10,000 crore capital expenditure plan for this fiscal, a top company official said on Friday. The state-owned company's chairman and managing director SK Gupta said, "For this fiscal, we plan to spend Rs 10,000 crore". He added that even though FY23 was not good for internal resource generation, it invested Rs 9,100 crore, which was 15 per cent higher than the budgeted levels. He exuded confidence that FY24 will be robust on the internal resource generation front, and there will not be any problem with continuing with the capex. "We plan to borrow something around Rs 5-7,000 crore," he added. The company's director of finance, RK Jain, said that given the present scenario in global finance, the borrowing will be done domestically and not in global markets. Keeping in line with the Sebi mandate, a fourth of the borrowings will be in bonds while the rest will be bank borrowings, he said. At present, the company

Agraga raises Rs 70 crore in funding round led by IvyCap Ventures

Digital logistics start-up Agraga has raised Rs 70 crore in a funding round led by IvyCap Ventures with participation from Alteria, the company said on Tuesday. The funds will enable Agraga to expand operations across India from its current presence in three cities to over 15 cities by March 2024, the company said in a statement. The company plans to use the funds to expand footprint, enhance tech capabilities, optimize supply chain partnerships and improve its integrations with asset partners like ocean and air carriers, warehouses, transporters, and customs departments. IvyCap Ventures Managing Partner Tej Kapoor will be joining the board of Agraga on behalf of IvyCap Ventures. On the investment, IvyCap Ventures, Founder, and Managing Partner, Vikram Gupta said, "Their platform leverages technology to provide a transparent, streamlined, and cost-effective approach to the supply chain ecosystem, and we are excited about their vision of transforming the global logistics industry".

Godrej Consumer Products plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore via NCDs

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) on Tuesday said it has plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore from the market through the issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs). The FMCG arm of the Godrej group, which is having a board meeting to approve its financial results on June 10 for the March quarter, would also consider a proposal for fundraising, the company said in an update on board meeting. "... at the same meeting, the board may also inter alia, consider approval of raising of funds by way of issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) aggregating to an amount up to Rs 5,000 crore in one or more tranches," said GCPL in a regulatory filing. The amount would be raised in one and more tranches, said GCPL which owns popular brands such as Good Knight and HIT. Last week, GCPL announced the acquisition of the FMCG business of Singhania-controlled Raymond along with brands, Park Avenue, Kamasutra and Premium, for Rs 2,825 crore. The company had reported a revenue of Rs 6,951.56 for the