Page 8 - Private Equity

VC firm gradCapital launches $6 million fund for students' startups

Bengaluru-based venture capital fund gradCapital has launched its second fund of USD 6 million (about Rs 49 crore) to invest in students' startups. The VC fund on Friday said it will offer a standard cheque of USD 40,000 (Rs 33 lakh) at 4 per cent equity in companies set up by students. gradCapital co-founder and CEO Abhishek Sethi said, "We are not in the business of finding and investing in deals, we are in the business of letting students be more ambitious and build a future, despite having a challenging education system. Students are more likely to start a D2C company instead of a quantum computer, and we need more of the latter." The selected entrepreneurs will take part in a four-week cohort programme in Bengaluru, which will include meetings with Ather Energy co-founder Tarun Mehta, Razorpay co-founder Shashank Kumar and Zerodha CTO Kailash Nadh, the company said. The fund is backed by CIIE.CO and the cohort has Nearbuy co-founder Ankur Warikoo, Info Edge founder and Executi

Sewerage infra player EMS plans to float IPO in Sept to raise Rs 300-320 cr

Water and sewerage infra player EMS Ltd on Thursday said it is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the next month to raise Rs 300-320 crore. Also, the company said it has completed the pre-IPO placement round and raised Rs 33.76 crore through it, leading to a reduction in fresh issue size in the upcoming maiden public issue. In the pre-IPO placement round, the Ghaziabad-based firm issued 16 lakh equity shares at an issue price of Rs 211 apiece, the company said in a statement. Accordingly, the size of the fresh issue has been reduced to Rs 146.24 crore from Rs 180 crore planned earlier. Besides, there would be an Offer of Sale (OFS) of 82.94 lakh shares by promoter and founder Ramveer Singh. At present, Singh holds a 97.81 per cent stake in the company. In March 2023, EMS Ltd filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through the maiden public issue and has already received Sebi's approval to go ahead with this IPO. Proceeds from the

Private equity, venture capital investments falls 5% to $3.9 bn in July

Private equity and venture capital funds' investments in the country declined 5 per cent to USD 3.9 billion across 59 deals in July, a report said on Thursday. While overall investments were lower than the USD 4.1 billion in July last year, the amount was 17 per cent higher than June this year, as per the report by industry lobby IVCA and consultancy firm EY. The number of transactions was down 26 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 59 in July while month-on-month it slipped 20 per cent. Vivek Soni, partner at EY, said sentiment in India for tech sector investments remains "tepid" and fund raising by startups in the country has been sluggish. The deal momentum is likely to pick up in the second half of 2023, he said, adding that India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies and its importance is increasing in global supply chains. Buyouts in value terms were at USD 2.5 billion across five deals as against USD 1.6 billion in the same number of deals a year ago, the report

PE inflows plunge 61% to $6.1 bn in January-Jun, lowest since 2020

Continuing global macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical headwinds, along with tight credit markets, pulled down private equity investments into the country by 61 per cent in the first half of 2023 to USD 6.1 billion, according to a report. The value is the lowest in the January-June period since 2020, shows data collated by Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group subsidiary and one of the world's largest financial markets data and insights providers. Despite the funding winter in the space, startups continued to attract the largest share of private equity capital, which in absolute terms was a steep 69 per cent decline year-on-year. However, in volume terms, PE deals jumped 53 per cent on a sequential basis to 300 transactions and rose 0.8 per cent in value terms on a quarter-on-quarter basis to USD 2.6 billion. Given the record amount of USD 13.7 billion raised by India-based PE funds in 2022, there is substantial capital waiting to be deployed. Internet-specific companie

PE investments in real estate down 5% YoY at 1.9 bn in Q1 FY24: Report

Increase interest rates impact investment flows, deal activity muted

There is a lot more risk aversion happening: Rothschild & Co India head

In a Q&A, the firm's India MD Chandresh Ruparel discusses the current M&A and PE space and outlook, even as he remains most bullish on India among BRICS nations for its ability to attract capital

Unicorn list declines in 2023, indicates slowdown in funding: Hurun report

New additions in the coveted unicorn list declined sharply in 2023, indicating a slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem, a report said on Tuesday. India added only three unicorns startups having a valuation of over USD 1 billion in 2023 against 24 in the year-ago period, as per the ASK Private Wealth Hurun Indian Future Unicorn Index 2023. The slowdown in unicorn additions is indicative of a "slowdown in India's startup ecosystem", the report -- which comes amid a slowdown in investor interest in what is being termed as "funding winter" -- said. The overall number of unicorns also declined to 83 from 84 in the year-ago period. ASK Private Wealth's chief executive and managing director Rajesh Saluja said unsustainable business models adopted by startups have led to a dip in valuations but stressed that funding to the right companies continues. Hurun India's chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid, however, said that the Indian startup story has high potential and he sees the overall

Recession risk, rate rises drive down private equity deals to 4-yr low

Since the start of the year, buyout firms have been unable to secure cheap debt and have had to draw on their own funds, marking a departure from traditional leveraged buyouts

Byju's early investor Pai calls for better governance after auditor exit

Deloitte disclosed on Thursday that it was resigning as auditor because Byju's had delayed providing financial statements for 2021-22

In Indian start-up technology churn, generative AI gets edge over Web3

Raise $7.1 million in funding across eight deals until June 1

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

KKR to take machinery maker Circor private in $1.6 bn deal, stock up 49%

KKR said it will pay $49 per share, sending Circor's stock up 49% at $47.20 in premarket trading. The offer represents a premium of nearly 55% to Circor's last close on Friday

Multiples Alternate announces $640 million first close of PE fund

Indian private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management on Wednesday announced the first close of a $640 million fund aimed at investing in domestic companies

Apollo pitches investors on deal to ease industrywide fundraising slump

The firm pitched it as a way to ease clients' liquidity pressures, according to people familiar with the matter

India gets over $60 bn in PE-VC investments for third year straight: Report

Country 'bright spot' in Asia Pacific region where capital flow is decelerating, it says

Private equity inflow in real estate plunges 95% to $45 mn in Jan-Mar

Private equity (PE) investment into Indian real estate fell sharply by 95 per cent in January-March to USD 45 million amid global uncertainties, according to property consultant Savills India. PE investment stood at USD 1 billion in the year-ago period. "The investment activity has been subdued due to growing global recession concerns, rising capital costs, and a mismatch in valuation expectations between sellers and investors, which have become significant hindrances to capital deployment in India," Savills said in a report. Furthermore, recent events in the global financial world, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the contagion spreading to other mid-market US banks, have contributed to the overall uncertainty in India's office leasing demand, it added. "The dip in private equity investment inflows into the Indian real estate sector in Q1 is understandable, given the prevailing geo-political and economic global challenges and uncertainties," said Diwakar Rana, ...

March-quarter PE investments fall 75% in sixth straight three-monthly dip

This is the lowest start to a year by value for PE investments in India since 2018 ($1.7 billion)

PE investments in India decline over 75% in Q1 of CY23, lowest since 2018

It is the sixth straight quarter of decline as global macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds drive caution in investment activity, says analyst

Fasten your seat belts: The switch to Fintech 2.0 has just begun

A shakeout among fintech firms is very likely, as the stress on governance and compliance is set to go up many notches

Biden to urge 25% billionaire tax, levies on rich investors & corporations

Biden's budget request to Congress, which is slated to be released Thursday, calls for a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, according to a White House official familiar with the proposal