Page 14 - Fundraising

Power Grid Corporation board okays raising Rs 600 crore via bonds

State-owned Power Grid Corporation's board has approved rasing up to Rs 600 crore through bonds to be issued on private placement basis. "Committee of directors for bonds, in their meeting held today i.e. on 24th March, 2023, have approved the raising of unsecured, non-convertible, non-cumulative, redeemable, taxable POWERGRID Bonds-LXXII (72nd) issue 2022-23 on private placement up to Rs 600 crore by securitisation of cash flows of 10 years i.e. till FY 2032-33 of its operational SPV (special purpose vehicle) viz. 'POWERGRID NM Transmission Ltd' (PNMTL)," a BSE filing stated. It showed that the total issue size is Rs 600 crore, which includes base issue size of Rs 100 crore and green shoe option of Rs 500 crore. The bonds will be listed at BSE and/or NSE. Bonds are redeemable at par in 40 equal instalments and interest payment on quarterly basis, it stated.

Agritech startup Sorted raises over $5 mn as seed funding to grow business

Agri startup Sorted, a tech platform founded by ex-CEO of Milkbasket Anant Goel for quality fruits and vegetables, has raised more than USD 5 million as seed funding to grow business. According to a statement, the serial entrepreneur has started Sorted, powered by proprietary technology and a franchisee network of digitised mom & pop stores. "Co-founded by Nitin Gupta and Sahil Madan, the tech-driven F&V (fruits & vegetables) platform has so far raised in excess of USD 5 million in their ongoing seed round," the company said. Sorted will enable access of straight-from-the-farmers, quality fruits & vegetables, at a highly competitive price, to customers through the medium of their choice call, message, online or offline. "Sorted is not attempting to change the way India buys F&V, it's plugging the inefficiencies that plague the existing supply chains. We have undertaken multiple POCs over the last 9 months to solve for the known industry issues, especially wastage,

EV charging infra platform CHARGE+ZONE raises $54 mn in Series A1 funding

Electric vehicle charging infra platform CHARGE+ZONE on Monday announced raising USD 54 million (Rs 450 crore) in Series A1 funding round led by global impact investment management firm BlueOrchard Finance. Additionally, the company plans to raise USD 75-100 million in equity as part of Series A2 during 2023-2024, CHARGE+ZONE said in a statement. The current Series A1 funding round is part of the planned capex investment of USD 300 million, as the company expects crucial growth for the electric four-wheeler segment over the next 4-5 years, the statement said. The freshly raised capital, which is a combination of both debt and equity, will be utilised to support high-speed charging network expansion plans, the company said. Of the total funds raised, USD 8 million is in debt investment from an infrastructure strategy managed by BlueOrchard, it said. With the latest round, the total capital raised by the company stands at USD 67.5 million, including USD 13.5 million mopped up earlie

One Impression raises $10 mn in series-A funding from Krafton, others

Influencer marketing platform One Impression on Wednesday said it raised USD 10 million in series-A funding round led by South Korean gaming major Krafton Inc and others. The Gurgaon-based startup claims to have helped over 500 brands, including the likes of Cetaphil, Meesho and MamaEarth, to drive growth with influencer-led initiatives. The platform transacts with thousands of creators including celebrities and nano influencers generating over 1,00,000 content pieces. In the seed funding round in January 2022, it had raised USD 1 million from angel investors such as Peeyush Bansal (founder of Lenskart), Anupam Mittal (CEO of People group), and celebrities like Olympian Neeraj Chopra, and comedian Zakir Khan, amongst others. One Impression, founded by the brother duo Apaksh Gupta and Jivesh Gupta in 2018, will utilise the money to expand its offerings, accelerate product development, and grow its presence in international markets starting with Southeast Asia and the UAE, the startup

Shriram Finance aims to raise $2.44 bn in FY24 to fund growth: Official

The retail non-banking finance company (NBFC) aims to grow its assets under management (AUM) by 15% in fiscal 2024 to around 1.9 trillion rupees to 2 trillion rupees

Warehousing developer Pragati Group raises $200mn from Singapore based fund

/ -- NCR-based Industrial and Logistics real estate developer Pragati Group, has raised $200 Million of equity capital from a Private Equity fund based in Singapore. Pragati has been offering customized warehouse development solutions since its inception in 2010 to top MNCs like Amazon India, Flipkart, DHL-Bluedart, Bosch, Daikin, and many more. The Singapore based fund has committed to invest $200 Million with Pragati Group towards development of industrial and logistics real estate assets as per the deal signed in Q3 FY 2022. Part of the deal involved acquisition of 2 international grade operational assets of approx. 2 million sft of GLA in NCR, Pragati One & Pragati Farukhnagar Logistics Parks, providing successful exit to the previous financial partner Morgan Stanley. Part of the deal also saw this fund acquire an equity stake in Pragati. Col. Jitender Yadav, Founder of Pragati Group said, "Pragati's vision is to be one of the top 5 industrial & logistics real estate ...

Troubled Silicon Valley startup bank spooks share markets, bonds rally

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3% to a two-month low, with banks and Hong Kong tech stocks leading losses, while London and European futures each slid more than 1%

ADIA may seal $500-million stake deal in eyewear start-up Lenskart

Eyewear company's deal with ADIA Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ChrysCapital maybe announced in weeks

Byju's to raise $250 mn via convertible notes in Aakash pre-IPO funding

The pre-IPO round at Aakash will help the startup to tide over a liquidity crunch as talks to raise funds at a parent level are getting delayed with a prolonged due diligence process

Vedanta may buy 6% more stake in Hindustan Zinc for Rs 7,900 cr

Govt planning OFS to sell 15% stake by March-end, will lose special rights over company; sources says Vedanta is looking raise about $1 billion from three foreign banks to fund the acquisition

SBI raises $1 billion via syndicated social loan for further lending

The funds will be used to further lend to microfinance institutions and self-help groups, a senior official at SBI, who declined to be named, told Reuters

Adani in talks for $400 mn debt against Australian coal port assets: Report

North Queensland Export Terminal, which is controlled by Adani family trust, is being considered to raise funds for the group, according to the report on Monday, citing sources aware of fundraising

LIC Housing Fin, HDB Finance reduce fundraise sizes on hardening yields

LIC Housing raises 1,150 cr against Rs 3,000 cr planned

Ed-tech company NxtWave raises $33 million to upskill Indian youth

Edtech company NxtWave on Tuesday said it has raised $33 million in its latest fundraising round, led by Greater Pacific Capital (GPC), in its bid to upskill more youth in the country.

Intangles raises $10 mn in series A funding from Baring PE Partners

The funding will be utilised for serving a robust new customer pipeline, expanding global presence and accelerating hiring to augment product engineering, sales and delivery teams, Instangles said

NTPC Green Energy to raise up to Rs 9,000 cr through rupee term loan

NTPC arm NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) has invited bids for rupee denominated term loan of up to Rs 9,000 crore. The bid document showed that NGEL intends to raise fresh debt and repay outstanding liability of Rs 8,200 crore towards NTPC by March 31, 2023 along with applicable interest cost. Also, additional funds to the tune of Rs 800 crore would be required for additional debt liability and for balance capex payments of projects which are yet to achieve full commercial operations, it stated. Thus, NGEL has invited offer for rupee term loan of up to Rs 9,000 crore, it said. The minimum amount of loan offered by banks/FIs (financial institutions) shall be Rs 1,000 crore and in multiples of Rs 500 crore thereafter, it stated. The last date for submission of bids is March 6, 2023. NTPC had incorporated NGEL in April 2022 for consolidating its renewable energy businesses and aggressively pursue its green/ sustainable energy venture.

Secure Blink bags seed funding from US-based venture capital firm

Secure Blink offersThreatspy, the SaaS platform which empowers developers and security engineers to secure their web applications and APIs proactively

PNB to raise Rs 800 cr in AT1 bond, instrument has 'AA+' from India Ratings

The Delhi-based lender has board approvals in place to raise Rs 12,000 crore in capital in FY23 through bond issuances

Vodafone Idea may get 60 days to raise funds before govt asks for Q3 dues

The company has paid about 10% of the charges and fees it owes govt for the October-December quarter

Start-up InsuranceDekho raises $150 mn in funding for expanding business

Company will use money to improve technology, enter new markets and launch products in health and life categories