Syska Invests Pre Series A Funding in Hyperlocal Grocery Delivery Startup TokriPune-based hyperlocal delivery startup Tokri has raised a pre-Series A round of funding from Syska LED group, as reported by Techcircle.in.
The firm has raised $2.5 million (around Rs 16.7 crore), with a commitment from Syska to put in more money. Tokri plans to use the capital to upgrade technology in a bid to improve the customer experience and set up warehouses in Pune and other cities. A part of the money will also go into brand building and marketing.
Founded in April 2015, Orange Etokri India Pvt. Ltd, which operates Tokri, was founded by Kansa and Ishant Goyal.
Quikr Shuts Down Flatchat Office, Six Months After Commonfloor AcquisitionSix months after online classifieds major Quikr acquired online realty portal CommonFloor, it has shut down Flatchat’s office, a rental flatmate-finding application owned by CommonFloor.
The online classifieds platform has given employees of Bengaluru-based Flatchat an option to join one of its portfolio companies and move geographically, but not everyone was comfortable moving out of the city, some employees told ET.
"Majority of the people have quit the firm and the office has been shut down. Quikr did not even give severance package but just a month's notice," said one of the employees.
According to employees, there were around 52 people in Flatchat, of which only technology team got absorbed in Quikr.
Angels Devang Mehta And Sandeep Shetty Invest in IoT Marketplace Gaia Smart CitiesGaia Smart Cities, a Delhi-based IoT marketplace, has raised $300K in an angel funding round. The investment was led by Devang Mehta and Sandeep Shetty. The raised funds will be utilised for product development targeted at smart city initiatives, and demonstrations & pilots for various clients, as per Inc42 report.
So far, it has raised $1.5 million funding from founders, employees and investors (including Silicon Valley and Bengaluru angels) . The company has 14 investors including promoters. Also, it was reported that the company is planning to raise $15-20 million funds from global institutions.
Mandala Capital Plans to Raise up to $250M for New FundPrivate equity firm Mandala Capital is raising $250 million for a new fund, which will invest in agri-businesses in India. The Mauritius-based firm has invested $180 million so far, all in India-based companies involved in agriculture. Mandala Capital looks for opportunities to provide growth capital in public equity investments.
The new fund, the firm’s second, has made first close of $140 million, and expects to reach final close by December, as reported by ET.
Wipro Infrastructure Acquires Israel's H R GivonWipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN) will acquire Israel-based H R Givon, supplier of metallic parts and assemblies to the aerospace industry, in an all-cash deal.
The financial details are still undisclosed by both the companies.
"This acquisition will help WIN broaden its product portfolio, expand global footprint and strengthen its ability to forge deeper customer relationships in the aviation and aerospace industry," WIN said in a statement.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in September this year, reported ET.
YepMe to Hive Off the Software Unit, Plans to Raise $15-20MYepMe is planning to hive off the software unit into a separate entity. Also eyeing software as a large business ensuring high margins, It is talking to investors to raise $15-20 million for the hived off entity, as per ET report.
YepMe, founded in 2011, raised $75 million in September last year from investors led by Malaysian state fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad and existing investor Helion Advisors participating in the round.
The company also plans to open 400 stores by the end of this financial year in keeping with the omnichannel strategy followed by most e-tailers to ramp up sales.
The Gurgaon-based company, which has four stores in the suburban city, has identified cities including Noida, Meerut, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Latur for expansion through franchise route.
Healthcare-focussed Fulcrum Ventures India Plans to Raise up to $120M for New FundPharmaceuticals and healthcare-focused private equity (PE) firm Fulcrum Venture India is planning to raise up to $120 million in a third fund. The fundraising plans are at an early stage and right now; they are in the process of tying up soft commitments from limited partners (LPs),” two people aware with the development told DealStreetAsia. Investors in private equity funds are called limited partners (LP).
The firm is currently working on registering the new fund with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and the process is expected to be completed by end of the current quarter.
Blackstone Group To Invest About Rs 300 Cr in Paranjape Schemes ConstructionGlobal private equity investor Blackstone Group Lp is in talks to invest about Rs.300 crore in a group company of Pune-based real estate developer Paranjape Schemes Construction Ltd, two people aware of the development told DealStreetAsia.
Blackstone’s investment will essentially be for construction and development of the project, which is a first for the private equity firm that has been coming on board as a financial investor. The talks are at the due diligence stage right now and the deal is expected to close by the end of August.
Salesforce Acquires Document-Editing Startup Quip for about $582MCloud-based software maker Salesforce.com said on Monday it agreed to acquire document-editing startup Quip for about $582 million.
Salesforce has an existing investment in Quip, whose word-processing platform is designed to be used by teams to edit documents or spreadsheets on mobile devices, wearables and desktops.
Quip will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Salesforce once the deal closes, reported ET.
Verizon Buys Vehicle Management Company Fleetmatics for $2.4BVerizon Communications would buy GPS vehicle tracking firm Fleetmatics Group for about $2.4 billion in cash to bolster its expansion into the connected vehicle and fleet management market.
The acquisition helps Verizon capture market share in the "highly fragmented and pretty under-penetrated" fleet and mobile workforce management business, Andres Irlando, chief executive officer of Verizon Telematics, told ET in an interview. The unit connects vehicles to its wireless network and offers applications to track and manage them.
China’s Didi Chuxing Acquires Uber’s China Business OperationsChina’s Didi Chuxing have now confirmed that it has agreed to buy the Uber’s Chinese business operations. The move has been fueled by the idea of taking two unprofitable cab aggregation businesses and merge them as one entity.
As part of the acquisition, Cheng Wei, founder and chairman of Didi Chuxing and Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber join Uber’s and Didi’s board respectively. Uber has also finalised its decision to merge its China operations with leading cab hailing service Didi and now it is diverting focus towards other key markets, including Singapore and India.
As per BloomBerg report, Uber will re-deploy 150 engineers from its China operations to other key Southeast Asian markets. The company is working to develop new features such as mapping, to boost services for the region including Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Gadget Servicing Startup Repaireasy Bags Seed FundingPune-based online gadget servicing startup Repaireasy has raised a round of seed funding from a consortium of investors, as reported by DEALSTREETASIA.
“We have received around $250,000 from few high networth individuals (HNIs) from India with participation from an Australian company and other investors from the region,” said Rishi Wahi, co-founder of Repaireasy. The investors include Rohit Tiwari, CEO and MD of Morris Steel Advisors; P Krishnamurthy, former executive of JM Morgan Stanley; Ben James, GRT India CEO and few others. Founded in 2013 by Wahi and Naveen Goyal, Repaireasy is looking to open its next office in Mumbai and has plans to expand its footprint to Delhi-NCR, Bangalore and Chennai. It is also looking at a headcount of 200 by the end of the financial year.
Tesla to Acquire SolarCity for $2.6BTesla is acquiring solar technology company SolarCity in an all stock transaction worth $2.6 billion. Just over a month ago, Tesla made a proposal to purchase SolarCity and yesterday both companies have reached an agreement to combine, creating the world's only vertically integrated sustainable energy company.
