BackDeals Buzz: FreshMenu in early talks to raise $75 million from TPG, Temasek, others
FreshMenu, which counts Lightspeed Ventures and Zodius Capital as investors, is looking for a valuation of $250 million in the Series C round against a $50 million valuation in the Series B round in 2016
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Deals Buzz brings you your dose of the top deals news, from newsrooms reported across the country
FreshMenu, the online food ordering platform, is in early discussions with private equity funds to raise as much as $75 million for expansion plans, the Economic Times reported. TPG, General Atlantic, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and domestic PE fund Kedaara Capital are among those in negotiations to acquire a 25-30% stake. FreshMenu, which counts Lightspeed Ventures and Zodius Capital as investors, is looking for a valuation of $250 million in the Series C round against a $50 million valuation in the Series B round in 2016, said one of the persons cited above. The money will be used to set up more kitchens in markets such as Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Gurugram and Mumbai besides entering new markets such as Pune and Hyderabad. Read more
Logistics firm Blackbuck raises ₹ 202 crore from Sequoia, others
Logistics startup Blackbuck has received ₹ 202 crore in a fresh round of funding, with Sequoia Capital coming in as a new investor, the Economic Times reported. Sequoia’s SCI Investment VI fund has put in over ₹ 100 crore, as per regulatory filings, while earlier backers such as Accel and Sands Capital put in the rest. Sequoia had earlier invested in logistics company Porter. Mint reported in October last year that Blackbuck raised ₹ 50 crore in venture debt from Innoven Capital. Sequoia Capital had closed its sixth India-focused fund in August at $695 million, making it the biggest venture capital firm in the country. Read more
Essar Steel’s legal problems have no solution anytime soon
With the Supreme Court directing Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal to settle unpaid liabilities of all connected parties to become eligible bidders for Essar Steel, a swift resolution may be out of sight for now, Mint reported. The judgement has opened up several permutations depending on what course of action the stakeholders choose to follow. To begin with, both Numetal and Arcelor are weighing various legal options, including challenging the verdict. Numetal, which the court held to be a related company of Rewant Ruia (part of the promoter Ruia family of Essar group) is expected to seek clarity from the apex court on its exact liability. Read more
Greenko-Orange deal back on the table for $925 million
Greenko Group is back in the running to buy Orange Renewable from Singapore’s AT Capital Group for about $925 million, in what may rank among the biggest ever deals in India’s renewable energy space, Mint reported. Greenko Group, backed by sovereign wealth funds GIC Holdings Pvt. Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, had in June agreed to acquire Orange Renewable at an enterprise value of around $1 billion. Hyderabad-based Greenko, however, later called off the deal. New Delhi-based Orange Renewable was founded by Singapore resident Arvind Tiku. On 11 September, Mint reported on investment bank Rothschild Inc. resuming the process of scouting for a buyer for Orange. The deal is now close to fruition at a discount of around $75 million, with Greenko slated to make an equity payout of around $300 million. Read more
OPIC looking to invest in late-stage Indian startups
The US government’s development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corp. (Opic) is keen to back late-stage Indian start-ups, a senior executive told Mint in an interview. “In VC (venture capital), we are looking at late-stage firms, which are Series B, C and D. What we have decided not to do is get into early-stage venture capital, and not take the technology risk," David Bohigian, executive vice-president at Opic, said in an interview. Opic currently has a private equity portfolio of $3.5 billion, a business it has been in for decades, said Bohigian, adding that the development finance agency typically commits between $5 million and $25 million, or up to a quarter of a fund’s total capitalization. Read more
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