Trifecta Capital said on Monday it has extended a venture debt funding of Rs 100 crore ($14.5 million) to its existing portfolio company BigBasket, underling the growing appetite of venture debt firms to write big-ticket cheques.
BigBasket will use the funds to meet its working capital and Capex requirements including building new warehouses and facilities for reprocessing of fruits and vegetables, the online grocer said in a statement.
The fresh capital will also strengthen its cold chain and ramp up its supply chain for the recently launched milk subscription business, it added.
Hari Menon, co-founder of SuperMarket Grocery Supplies Pvt. Ltd, which operates BigBasket, said, “We are present in 26 cities and continue to optimise our supply chain. A significant part of our business is fresh fruits and vegetables, the bulk of which is sourced directly from farms”.
“It is crucial that we maintain the quality right up to the last mile. Funding such Capex requirements is best done through debt,” he added.
BigBasket had previously raised venture debt of $7 million (Rs 45 crore) from Trifecta Capital in March 2017. Earlier in March this year, BigBasket raised $150 million (about Rs 1,040 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by South Korean firm Mirae Asset.
The funding in the online grocer comes close on the heels of Trifecta Capital’s Rs 70 crore investment in health-tech firm Practo Technologies Ltd last month, as reported by VCCircle.
Rahul Khanna, co-founder of Trifecta Capital, said the firm’s strategy is to provide customized debt solutions to companies based on their specific business needs. “Equally, our LPs are eager to find ways to collaborate with our investee companies. We are constantly looking for innovative ways to add value to our investee companies,” he added.
Trifecta Capital is raising capital for its second investment vehicle, for which it has made “great progress” and aims to have an investible corpus of Rs 1,500 crore, Khanna had told VCCircle earlier this year.
Earlier in the day, Alteria Capital said it has made the final close of its first venture debt fund at $140 million (Rs 960 crore).
Last month, Alteria Capital had signed a venture debt cheque of Rs 80 crore ($11.5 million) to digital lending startup Lendingkart.
InnoVen Capital had extended Rs 100 crore in venture debt to travel portal Yatra around two years ago.
