Grover plans new startup, looks to raise $200 mn

Anirudh Laskar and Arti Singh

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Former Bharatpe chief executive and co-founder Ashneer Grover is in talks with Us-based family offices and offshore private equity players to raise $200-300 million for starting a new business, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on the condition of anonymity.

“He may use some of his personal wealth to start with. Eventually,

he may either sell a part of his stake in Bharatpe or raise fresh capital by issuing a stake in the new company. He has met at least six investors regarding his new venture. Discussions are preliminary right now,” said one of the people cited above.

Grover owns 8.5% of Bharatpe, which is valued at around $3 billion. “There are buyers for his Bharatpe stake. The transaction price is something one has to negotiate,” said this person.

Grover is in the US. While it is not known in which sector Grover will test his entrepreneurial skills next, on Tuesday, while celebrating his 40th birthday, Grover announced on Twitter

that he is ready to re-enter the world of business with plans to build another “unicorn”.

He hinted the new startup would “disrupt another sector”. Following his controversial exit from Bharatpe over allegations of financial irregularities, he has been keeping a low profile. “Today, I turn 40. Some will say I’ve lived a full life and experienced more things than most. Created value for generations. For me, it’s still unfinished business,“said Grover’s tweet.

Grover joined Bharatpe, a merchant payments startup, in 2018 as the third co-founder. He was sent on a leave of absence in January this year after an audio clip surfaced online where he was heard being aggressive with a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee. Later, Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain were accused of financial irregularities, which eventually led to their removal from the company in March. As the face of Bharatpe, Grover helped turn the fintech into a unicorn in August last year. A startup is termed a unicorn when its valuation crosses $1 billion. The buzz on his fundraising plans is in contrast to one of his statements at an event last month, where he said he won’t go to investors for a planned startup and “will (still) make the new venture profitable.”

Mint had reported that out of the 8.5% owned by Grover, 3.5-4% of the firm is on account of the stake held on behalf of Bhavik Koladiya. If this is added to the 1.4% set to be clawed back by Bharatpe, Grover might be left owning 3.5-4% of the firm.

HE MAY EITHER SELL A PART OF HIS STAKE IN BHARATPE OR RAISE FRESH CAPITAL BY ISSUING A STAKE IN THE NEW COMPANY