Startup Funding Drops 46% with Number of Deals Falling 31% Q-o-Q in 2017

News Corp VCCEdge, India’s leading publisher of alternative investment, deals and startup news, data and information and part of globally diversified media, education and information services group, News Corp, has today released its Startup Deal Report Q1 CY2017.

 

Capturing funding deal activities encompassing private equity, venture capital, angel/seed investment transactions for the seventeen quarters ending March 2017, the report also offers information on mergers and acquisitions with sector and region-wise analysis.

Highlights of Startup Deals report

Startup funding sees grim times

• Startup funding activity slowed down drastically with deal-making slipping 47.45% vis-à-vis Q1 CY2016


• Cumulative deal values dipped by 45.76% Q-o-Q

 

Consolidation soon after a record year of startup funding in the year 2015

• M&A deals in the startup space witnessed a 75% jump Q-o-Q


• Acquisition of Citrus Payments Solutions ($130mn), One Mobikwik ($41mn), ZipDial Mobile Solutions ($31mn) and Local Cube Commerce ($16mn) are amongst the top M&A deals

Investors show preference for late stage funding

• Angel and seed investments fell both in volume and value terms with deal volumes reduced to half with 120 deals in Q1 CY2017 in comparison to 245 deals in the same period last year


• Series A funding declined 65% in deal value on a Y-o-Y basis


• Series B funding value improved 22% in the FY Q1 compared to the same period last year, despite deal numbers being lower by 16%.

Fin-tech in; Food-tech, Travel-tech on the way out

• Fintech with 11 deals worth $18.5 mn, Food Tech with 8 deals worth $11.1 mn, Travel Tech with $11.3 mn from 4 deals, Health Tech with $8.43 mn from 10 deals and Real Estate Tech with 2 deals worth $10 mn were the top sectors that attracted investor interest


• Health Tech remains a strong bet in terms of deals bagged

Bengaluru Outshines Delhi in Growth of Startup Funding Deals

• 24% of start-up deals were cracked in Bangalore at a total deal value of $96 mn with 67.5% being at the seed stage


• Second is Delhi-NCR in terms of deal volume with 38 deals worth $44 mn


• 60% of deals in Mumbai were in the angel stage with cumulative deal values touching $34 mn


• Hyderabad with 15 deals to the tune of $4mn and Chennai with 5 deals amounting to $12 mn made it to the top 5 investment destinations of India.


• Investment pattern: Angel and seed investments seem to be the dominant theme across cities without exception

Key 5 Startup deals in Q1CY2017

• Bengaluru-based ID Fresh Food India Pvt. Ltd (Packaged Foods & Meats category) raised $25mn


• Bengaluru-based Cue Learn Pvt. Ltd (Education Services category) raised $15mn


• Gurgaon-based Square Yards Consulting Pvt. Ltd (Internet Software & Services category), Noida-based Holiday Triangle Travel Pvt. Ltd (Real Estate-Tech category) and Mumbai-based Ulink Agritech Pvt. Ltd. (Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals category) raised $10mn

India Quarterly Deals Report Q1 2017 - PE Investments Worst Low in 17 Quarters

News Corp VCCEdge, India’s leading publisher of alternative investment, deals and startup news, data and information and part of globally diversified media, education and information services group, News Corp, has today released its India Quarterly Deals report for Q1 CY2017.

Capturing funding deal activities encompassing private equity, venture capital, angel/seed investment transactions for the seventeen quarters ending March 2017, the report also offers information on mergers and acquisitions with sector and region-wise analysis.

Highlights of the News Corp VCCEdge India Quarterly Deals report

PE Investments see a sober start to the year

• 238 deals worth $3.04 bn in Q1, CY2017 vis-à-vis 432 deals worth $4.19 bn in Q1, CY2016



• Median deal value quadrupled to $2.25 mn for Q1, 2017 compared to $0.6 mn in Q1, 2016



• Angel investments at a 4-year low at $28 mn with VC investments dropping by 14% Y-o-Y



• The top PE deal for the quarter was the Bharti Infratel – KKR, CPPIB deal which at $946 mn pushed up the average deal value

Fund infusion sees better times though investors tread cautiously

• Investment values doubled against last quarter to $820 mn for Q1 CY2017, though this was a fraction of the $2,500 mn for Q1 CY2016



• There were no fresh investments of $250 mn or more from investors, this quarter



• The top 4 fund infusions involving Oman India Joint Investment Fund II, KKR India Credit Fund, ICICI Venture Fund Management’s India Advantage Fund Series IV and IDFC Private Equity Fund IV captured a major share of total funds at $641 mn

Ominous times for PE funds as exit values fall

Y-o-Y, the situation seems grim with exits having fallen to $1.4 bn for Q1 CY2017 vis-à-vis $2.1 bn for the same quarter last year

Open markets dominated exit deal values at $945 mn, bouncing back as the preferred exit route

Key exits recorded for the quarter were the Providence Equity Partners-Idea Cellular deal and the Khazanah Nasional Berhad-Apollo Hospitals deal

Delhi NCR continues to rule the roost

At $1,246 mn, Delhi saw more action this quarter than Mumbai ($692 mn) and Bangalore ($441 mn) put together

Information Technology continued to dominate the space in Delhi NCR with 29 deals in the sector followed by 9 deals in Consumer Discretionary and 4 each in Consumer Staples and Industrials

Coming second in terms of deal value was Mumbai with 47 deals amounting to $692 mn, with Information Technology leading the way with 23 deals followed by Consumer Discretionary with 7 deals and Financials at 6 deals

Bengaluru registered 53 deals amounting to $441 mn with close to 60% being in the Information Technology space and ~19% in the Consumer Discretionary space. Pune with 8 deals to the tune of $62 mn and Hyderabad with 18 deals amounting to $32 mn made it to the top-5 investment destinations of India

Vodafone-Idea deal dominates M&A space

• M&A deal numbers came in at 226 as opposed to 237 for the last quarter, with the trend of a few large deals contributing to the total value continuing



• Of the total of $16 bn deal value for Q1 CY2017, the Vodafone-Idea deal saw a majority deal value of $12.4 bn



• Low median value across deals in the past 5 quarters vis-à-vis higher average deal values indicate a larger number of small ticket transactions in the space



• The Electronic Components space saw 3 deals followed by Wireless Telecommunications and Pharmaceuticals at 2 each

Sharing her views on the India Quarterly Deals report, Nita Kapoor, Head India – New Ventures, News Corp and CEO, News Corp VCCircle said, "PE sentiment seems to be extremely cautious and this is clearly reflecting in market performance. Appetite for risk is low with consolidation, job cuts and rollback of funding plans underway. A dip of 22% in deal values with simultaneous decline in exit figures is worrisome, though these are early days and a bounce back is possible, if not probable in the immediate future."

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News Corp Acquires Indian startup 'BigDecisions.com'

BigDecisions.com, which is a financial advisory startup firm based in Mumbai, India, has been acquired by News Corp led by Rupert Murdoch for an undisclosed amount. The same was announced by News Corp on Saturday.

According to a statement released by News Corp, "BigDecisions.com aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data."

BigDecisions.com was founded by Gaurav Roy and Manish Shah in the early part of the year 2013.

"Our latest investment builds on our adding belief that a digital India needs more trusted, reliable and independent data. BigDecisions.com will help Indians make the most important decisions by using accurate information tailored for their personal needs," said Robert Thomson, News Corp Chief Executive commenting on the acquisition.

Following the acquisition, Roy and Shah will help in overseeing a significant expansion of the Mumbai based BigDecisions.com team as well its consumer offerings.  They both will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.

The acquisition of BigDecisions.com by News Corp also includes FinDirect Services Pvt. Ltd. which is the website’s parent company.

As a part of its strategy to expand its presence in digital media, News Corp also acquired 25% stake in a Indian realty portal called PropTiger.com for USD 30 million (Rs. 185 Crore apporx). The deal was finalized just last month. The Rupert Murdoch led News Corp also picked up stake in PropTiger.com’s Singapore based parent company, Elara Technologies Pte Ltd.

Started in early 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy, and operating until recently as bigdecisions.in, the BigDecisions.com platform has already helped some 40,000 users make better-informed decisions. Following the acquisition, both co-founders will help oversee a significant expansion of the Mumbai-based BigDecisions.com team as well as its consumer offerings. They will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.

News Corp Acquires Indian startup 'BigDecisions.com'

BigDecisions.com, which is a financial advisory startup firm based in Mumbai, India, has been acquired by News Corp led by Rupert Murdoch for an undisclosed amount. The same was announced by News Corp on Saturday.

According to a statement released by News Corp, "BigDecisions.com aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data."

BigDecisions.com was founded by Gaurav Roy and Manish Shah in the early part of the year 2013.

"Our latest investment builds on our adding belief that a digital India needs more trusted, reliable and independent data. BigDecisions.com will help Indians make the most important decisions by using accurate information tailored for their personal needs," said Robert Thomson, News Corp Chief Executive commenting on the acquisition.

Following the acquisition, Roy and Shah will help in overseeing a significant expansion of the Mumbai based BigDecisions.com team as well its consumer offerings.  They both will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.

The acquisition of BigDecisions.com by News Corp also includes FinDirect Services Pvt. Ltd. which is the website’s parent company.

As a part of its strategy to expand its presence in digital media, News Corp also acquired 25% stake in a Indian realty portal called PropTiger.com for USD 30 million (Rs. 185 Crore apporx). The deal was finalized just last month. The Rupert Murdoch led News Corp also picked up stake in PropTiger.com’s Singapore based parent company, Elara Technologies Pte Ltd.

Started in early 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy, and operating until recently as bigdecisions.in, the BigDecisions.com platform has already helped some 40,000 users make better-informed decisions. Following the acquisition, both co-founders will help oversee a significant expansion of the Mumbai-based BigDecisions.com team as well as its consumer offerings. They will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.