Mergers, Acquisitions and Funding Round-up this week: June 17 to June 22

Of all the start-ups, Zepto remained in the major limelight, not only because of the funding received but also because of their statement about the business capacity in India. Zepto's funding, alone, has exceeded the cumulative $512 Mn raised by Indian startups in January 2024. In total, the startups, cumulatively, raised $800.5 Mn across 29 deals this week which was a 296% increase from the $201.8 Mn secured by the startups last week across 21 deals. 

1. Zepto gets $665 mn from multiple investors 

Zepto, the hyperlocal consumer delivery services has secured an investment worth $665 million in a fresh funding round by Glade Brook Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, StepStone  Lachy Groom, Avenir Growth, Lightspeed, Avra at a valuation of $3.6 billion. This deal has made it one of the largest cheques obtained by a company in recent history.

2. Aye Finance gets $30 mn from FMO

Aye Finance, a B2B fintech firm, raised $30 million (approximately ₹250 crore) from FMO, a Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank. This investment in debt funding is likely to promote financial inclusion by providing loans to underserved micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across India.

3. Bira 91 gets $25 mn from Kirin Holdings

The Delhi-based alcoholic beverages brand Bira 91 has raised $25 Mn (about INR 208 Cr) from its existing backer Kirin Holdings. The funds have been raised via external commercial borrowing (ECB). The company's board had also passed a special resolution to secure $25 Mn via ECB from Kirin Holdings, earlier this year.

4. EKA Mobility gets $23.9 mn from Mitsui 

EKA Mobility (Pinnacle Mobility Solutions), a cleantech start-up received funding of $23.9 mn from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. a global trading and investment powerhouse. The fund will aid in its commitment to growth in the electric vehicle (EV) sector whereas the type of funding remains confidential.

5. OrbitShift has got $7 mn from multiple partners

OrbitShift, an AI-native sales operating system has got the funding of $7 million in seed funding led by Peak XV’s Surge and Stellaris Venture Partners. The funds are likely to be used for boosting the entire sales ecosystem, including sales, pre-sales, sales operations, and marketing teams.

6. Alyve Health secures $5.5 mn from Axilor Ventures 

The Mumbai-based  Alyve Health has secured a funding of $ 5.5 million by Axilor Ventures. However, the funding also saw participation from existing investor 1Crowd Fund and a healthcare-focused fund, Inhealth Ventures. The health-tech startup secured the funds in Series A funding.

 Mergers and Aquisitions

• A US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst will merge with Delhi NCR-based early-stage investment firm Venture Highway. After the merger, the brand will come to be known as General Catalyst India.
• The NSE-listed OTA Yatra Online is acquiring Adventure and Nature Network Private Limited (ANN) picking up an additional stake of 49% for Rs 98 Lakh.
• Ananta Capital’s beauty and wellness arm Guardian has acquired a 55% stake in a D2C personal care startup Anveya Living. The brand Guardian also plans to increase its stake.
• TMRW, the Aditya Birla Group’s fashion arm has acquired a 16% stake in the Virat Kohli-backed WROGN for Rs. 125 Crore. it is an all-cash deal. The funds are likely to be used to expand WROGN’s offline footprint.