Regional language social media platform ShareChat is looking to raise $200 million (Rs 1,510 crore at current exchange rate) from existing investors SAIF Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and microblogging platform Twitter, persons familiar with the discussions told The Economic TImes.
The fundraising talks come on the heels of the government banning ShareChat rival Helo, owned by China’s ByteDance. With Helo out of the picture, ShareChat has a huge market to capture.
It is also considering entering the short videos’ space dominated by Chinese apps TikTok and Likee, the persons added.
ShareChat raised $100 million in its Series D round of funding led by Twitter in August last year.
In another development, the board of private-sector lender Axis Bank has approved a proposal relating to raising of funds not exceeding Rs 15,000 crore (about $2 billion).
According to a stock-exchange filing by the bank, the money will be raised via the issuance of equity shares/depository receipts and/or any other instruments or securities
representing either equity shares and/or convertible securities linked to equity shares.
The exercise will be subject to the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing 26th annual general meeting of the bank.
The bank is in talks with financial investors including Carlyle, Bain Capital, GIC (Singapore) and Fidelity, a person aware of the development told The Economic Times.
It was previously reported in May that Carlyle was in initial discussions to infuse around $1 billion in the bank in the form of confidence capital.
Meanwhile, Chennai-based Murugappa Group is close to taking over fraud-hit Mumbai-based CG Power & Industrial Solutions Ltd, a distressed company backed by private equity firm KKR, for up to Rs 800 crore ($106 million), persons close to the matter told The Times of India.
CG Power hired Arpwood Capital Pvt. Ltd as its financial adviser to help raise equity funding in March.
Murugappa will separately work out a debt recast plan for the beleaguered engineering company’s lenders.
The deal is expected to be sealed sometime this month.
Also, Mumbai-based packaging company Parksons Packaging has mandated Credit Suisse for a majority stake sale from founder Ramesh Kejriwal and family including an exit for private equity backer Kedaara Capital, two persons familiar with the matter told Mergermarket.
The promoters, however, will part with some of their stake in the deal, they added.
Another financial backer -- IIFL Assets Management, which acquired 7.5% stake in the company in early 2019 -- would stay invested, one of the persons said.
Parksons Packaging is more likely to attract a foreign strategic buyer that would look for long-term bets in India, although bulge-bracket private equity firms would also be eyeing the asset, the persons added.
Kedaara Capital got onboard in 2015 with Rs 200 crore , which included primary capital along with the acquisition of 25% stake from India-focused private equity firm ChrysCapital, which had invested Rs 50 crore in the company in mid-2006.