Mid-sized PE, VC deals fuel funding activity, values soar

Capital raised by startups from private equity and venture capital firms edged up for the week ended 19 April, thanks to a bunch of midsized transactions valued at over $30 million. Funding volumes rebounded remarkably, helping lift overall funding values for the week.

The five-day period saw private companies cumulatively raise about $398 million, up 18% from the preceding week, with transaction volumes rising to multiweek high of 32. Activity in mergers & acquisitions picked up during the week with five transactions recorded.

Mid-market PEE firm Lighthouse Funds made the biggest bet, with ₹700 crore (around $83 million) into a co-investment opportunity. The Fab India-backer signed a cheque for Prasons Nutritionals Pvt. Ltd, which serves both Indian and global FMCG brands in India. Co-investors included Internal Finance Corp., Evolvence India, and HDFC AMC’s Fund of Funds (FoF), as well as a few family offices. This was followed by a $70 million infusion in Gujarat-based pharmaceuticals brand Le Renon Healthcare by PE firm ChrysCapital. However, it is not clear whether this was a primary infusion or a secondary sale.

Google-backed short video platform ShareChat raised $49 million via convertible debentures to some of its existing investors, such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Temasek, Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures and HarbourVest. The proceeds will be utilised to increase its advertising targeting technology and grow consumer transactions business.

Small-ticket deals consisted of a $10 million (₹83 crore) Series B bet on Uniqus Consultech, a tech startup focussed on ESG (environmental, social and governance) and accounting and reporting consultancy, by existing investors.

Blume Ventures participated in seed funding of LightFury Games, that raised a total of $8.5 million from Mixi, and Gemba Capital, as well as angel investors Kunal Shah (Cred), and Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy). In M&As, Sanjiv Puri-led ITC Infotech Ltd acquired Pune-based cloud consulting firm Blazeclan Technologies Pvt Ltd for about $58 million.