Microsoft-funded Chrysalis Capital is investing Rs 25 crore in the Bangalore-based e-tailing portal Fabmart against an equity placement, said Raj Kondur, director, Chrysalis Capital. However, he did not reveal the equity stake the India-specific venture capital fund has acquired in the Internet company.
This is the largest investment that the $65 million venture capital fund has made in the Indian dotcom arena. The funds raised by fabmart.com will be used for its expansion plans, including setting up infrastructure.
Fabmart had raised Rs 5.5 crore through private placement as seed funding last year. Talking about the company's future plans, V S Sudhakar, managing director, Fabmart said, "We are in the process of setting up the largest retailing shop on the Internet."
As part of its expansion plans, the company will set up new stores. "We are aiming at setting up about eight stores by the end of 2000," Sudhakar said.
The company plans to sell jewelry and grocery on the Net next year. The company will also offer toys and personal computer on its website soon.
The company is also in the process of setting up infrastructure required to back its Internet offerings. According to Sudhakar, the company will follow the partnership model to set up physical infrastructure for its operations.
In addition, Fabmart will also set up warehouses in Chennai, Mumbai and Singapore, of which the Singapore warehouse will function as the hub for shipments to the overseas market.
Chrysalis Capital recently received $5 million from software major Microsoft, in addition to investments from the Bank of Madura, Stanford University and the government of Singapore.
The company has also received funding from individuals like Vinod Dham, the man who ran Intel's Pentium project, Victor J Menezes, Citigroup's co-chief executive, Hank Paulson, chairman Goldman Sachs, and Steve Friedman, former chairman Goldman Sachs and 10 other Goldman Sachs partners. Other investors include K B Chandrashekhar of Exodus and Sanjeev Sidhu of i2 Systems.
