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Global PE firms might be giving most sectors in India a cold shoulder due to an economic slump, but when it comes to the world wide web, Indian dot-coms, particularly those in the online retail space, are seeing a flood of money chasing them.
Online food and restaurant listings firm Zomato announced on the 6th of November that it raised Rs 227 cr from Sequoia Capital and InfoEdge (owners of Naukri.com), valuing the Delhi-based company at Rs 900 crore. Zomato is only the latest in a spate of PE and VC deals that have been inked in the internet space, which has been buzzing with M&A activity for the last two years.
Majority of the PE investments have gone into online retail portals and e-commerce websites which have seen close to $1 billion ($928.16 million to be precise) being pumped in since 2012 via 117 deals. Internet software and services websites like Zomato on the other hand saw a higher volume (168) of deals being inked, but the cumulative deal value at $339.32 million was less than half of the money that chased e-retailers.
| PE/VC/Angel Deals In Internet Retail & Internet Software Services From 2012-2013 YTD | ||||
| Internet Retail | Internet Software & Services | |||
| Year | Deal Volume | Deal Value ($ mn) | Deal Volume | Deal Value ($ mn) |
| 2012 | 73 | 371.14 | 81 | 191.76 |
| 2013 YTD | 44 | 557.02 | 87 | 147.56 |
| Total | 117 | 928.16 | 168 | 339.32 |
Here's a quick look at the top 5 PE/VC deals that have kept the web world (retail & non retail) buzzing since early 2012:
#1
Target - Flipkart Online Services Private Ltd
Buyer/s - Tiger Global Management LLC, Accel India Venture Fund, Iconiq Capital LLC, MIH Holdings Ltd., Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Amount raised - $360 mn + $150 mn = $510 mn (two tranches)
Industry - Online retail
When? - Jan 2012 & July 2013
#2
Target - Just Dial Ltd.
Buyer/s - Sequoia Capital India III, SAP Ventures
Amount raised - $57 million
Industry - Online search service for B2B and B2C products & services
When? - June 2012
#3
Target - Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd (Snapdeal.com)
Buyer/s - IndoUS Venture Partners I LLC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Nexus India Capital II, eBay Inc., Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd., Intel Capital, ru-Net, Saama Capital II
Amount raised - $50 million
Industry - Online retail
When? - April 2013
#4
Target - Quikr India Pvt Ltd
Buyer/s - eBay Inc., Norwest Venture Partners, Matrix India Fund, Warburg Pincus India Pvt. Ltd.
Amount raised - $32 million
Industry - Online Classifieds
When? - May 2012
#5
Target - Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd.
Buyer/s - Accel India Venture Fund, Tiger Global LP
Amount raised - $25 million
Industry - Online retail
When? - November 2012
Source: VCCEdge - the financial research platform of VCCircle.com
