SOFTBANK ARM LEADS $325 MN FUNDRAISE BY OFBUSINESS

BENGALURU: Ofbusiness, a raw material procurement and business financing platform, has raised $325 million at a valuation of $5 billion, a top company executive said on Monday.

The Series G round, Ofbusiness’ fourth major equity fundraising this year, was led by Alpha Wave Ventures II, Tiger Global Management and Softbank Vision Fund 2. The total funds raised include a secondary sale worth $140 million, which saw participation from early investors and employee stockholders.

The company raised $160 million in July, in a funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, at a valuation of $1.5 billion, marking its entry into the growing list of Indian unicorns. The industrial raw material goods seller quickly doubled its valuation to $3 billion in September, when it raised $207 million from investors led by Tiger Global.

According to co-founder Nitin Jain, Ofbusiness plans to use the funds to diversify its business, grow a foothold in the export markets, boost its financial services and credit businesses, and enter the manufacturing segment. Jain added that the company is also eyeing an initial public offering by 2022 and looking to list on local stock exchanges. But he declined to share further details.

With the latest fundraising, the company will also explore investing in profitable small and medium enterprises (SMES) that manufacture industrial goods to optimize their asset usage and strengthen its supplychain operations.

Jain declined to comment on how many SMES the company plans to invest in.

Founded six years ago, Ofbusiness is a technology-enabled platform that facilitates raw material procurement and credit in the business-to-business (B2B) markets, focusing on the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. It enables B2B commerce on its platform to help customers get better products at competitive prices.