TPG Growth, PremjiInvest and ChrysCapital are in advanced talks to pick up stakes in SoftBank-backed FirstCry in a round worth up to $250 million (about Rs 1,821 crore) at a valuation of up to $2.1 billion (about Rs 15,296 crore), The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The secondary share sale will allow some early-stage backers of the 11-year-old company to exit, they said.
SoftBank Vision Fund had picked up a 40% stake in 2019, valuing FirstCry at about $1.1 billion (about Rs 8,012 crore).
In another development, lenders of Café Coffee Day have initiated separate talks with several private equity funds, including Samara Capital, PremjiInvest and Multiples, for the sale of the retailer’s office vending business after a failed attempt to strike a deal with the Tata Group, executives aware of the talks told The Economic Times.
The lenders led by Yes Bank expect a valuation of Rs 2,000 crore (about $274 million) for the business. Tata’s offer is said to be below that threshold.
Tata could still re-enter the fray and strategic investors like Hindustan Unilever are also believed to be interested in the vending business, according to some of the sources.
Also, Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) is looking to invest around $200 million (about Rs 1,456 crore) in online pharmacy platform PharmEasy, valuing it as a unicorn, a person directly aware of the matter told The Times of India.
An application seeking approval for the investment has been filed with the Competition Commission of India.
“This would be for a mix of primary and secondary investment in PharmEasy’s parent firm API Holdings,” the person aware of the matter said.
TPG Growth is also picking up about 7% in the company as part of the broader funding round.
Lastly, India’s sovereign wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd has hired Morgan Stanley executive director Ami Momaya as a partner, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Momaya will join in early May, one of the sources said. She was with Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investment management division.