Mumbai: Mint brings you your daily dose of the top deals news, reported from newsrooms across the country.
Advent International emerges sole bidder for Bharat Serums
Private equity firm, Advent International has emerged as the sole bidder for Mumbai-based biopharma company Bharat Serums & Vaccines (BSV) with a bid worth ₹ 3,600 crore ($520 million), The Economic Times reported citing industry officials familiar with the development. This, as the other contenders, Chrys Capital-backed Mankind Pharma and a consortium of Carlyle and Zydus Cadila, backed out of the the two-year-long sale process. The founding promoters, due to a mismatch in valuations, may try to raise funds for a buyback to give an exit to the existing PE investors, Kotak PE and OrbiMed, that together hold a 23% in the company. If the buyback does happen, the promoters plan to sell the business later at higher price. Bharat Serums and Vaccines, that makes plasma derivatives, hormones, equine anti-toxins and serums, antifungals, anaesthetics, cardiovascular and diagnostic products, competes with Serum Institute of India, Biological E, Panacea Biotec and Shantha Biotechnics in India.
Cloud data protection firm Druva raises $130 million, enters unicorn club
Sequoia Capital-backed software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Druva Inc., which offers cloud data protection and management, has raised $130 million in a new round led by Viking Global Investors, which valued the company at over $1 billion, The Mint reported. The round also saw participation from other new investors, such as Neuberger Berman and Atreides Management, as well as existing investors, including Riverwood Capital, Tenaya Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. The Pune-based startup plans to use the funds mainly to invest in innovation and strategic tech acquisitions, and some for marketing, said Jaspreet Singh, founder and chief executive officer, Druva. The company also plans to launch an initial public offer within 12-18 months, he said.
Two-wheeler startup Vogo may raise up to $50 million
Vogo Automotive Pvt. Ltd, which offers bikes on rent, is in talks with multiple investors to raise $40-50 million as equity to fuel its growth plans, Mint reported citing two people familiar with the matter. The Bengaluru-based startup has mandated Mumbai-based investment bank Avendus Capital for the latest fundraise, according to one of the persons Quote: d in the report. The company may use the funds to expand its fleet, with a focus to enhance the share of electric scooters in its roster. The company, in January, had raised ₹ 100 crore in a Series B round from investors, including Kalaari Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, Matrix Partners India and Pawan Munjal family trust. Last December, it had announced a strategic partnership with cab-aggregator Ola as it invested $100 million in the startup, allowing it to add 100,000 scooters and tap more users in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides listing on the Ola app.
AI-based startup Active.ai raises $3M from Spanish banking group
Artificial intelligence based tech startup, Active.ai has raised $3 million from Innocell, the venture capital arm of Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell, marking its first investment in India’s fintech space, The Economic Times reported. The existing investors also took part in this round to retain their respective shareholdings. The company, which has a development centre in Bengaluru, offers artificial intelligence-led conversational platforms to financial institutions, which help them in customer interactions.The Singapore-based startup, which raised its Series A back in 2017, has so far raised over $11 million, including the latest round that was an extension to series A. Earlier, Vertex Ventures had led a $8.25 million series A round, along with CreditEase, Dream Incubator, Kalaari Capital and IDG Ventures. It plans to use the fresh capital to enter the European market.
