BigBasket closes Rs 32.65 Cr funding round led by Helion Venture

Bengaluru-based e-grocer BigBasket has raised Rs 32.65 crore led by Helion Ventures Partners. According to RoC(registrar of companies) filings, the funding was made through allotment of 50,000 shares at Rs 6,509.25 apiece on September 27, 2017, reported Financial Express.

Other investors of the company include Trifecta Capital, Brand Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Ascent Capital, Paytm Mall, Alibaba Group and Abraaj Group, among others.

Earlier, this month, Supermarket Grocery and Supplies that runs BigBasket, had issued equity and compulsory convertible preference shares to Trifecta, and secured Rs 5.5 crore from the Gurugram-headquartered Venture Debt Fund. The VC firm had also invested Rs 45 crore in BigBasket in March this year.

In March 2016, BigBasket raised $150 million in a round of funding led by Abraaj Group, and other existing investors.

The online grocery firm has got Indian government approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) in August. Now, the firm can retail food products manufactured and produced in India.

Also Read: Growing online grocery to be big battleground for e-tailers

Besides, Grofers and Amazon India also got approval from the government. All three companies had sought approval for FDI in food retail with an investment to the tune of $695 million over the period of time with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

In July this year, Paytm Mall and Alibaba jointly began due-diligence to pump-in $200 million round in Bigbasket that will shoot-up later valuation to $900 million (post-money). Amazon had also shown interest in Bigbasket, however, talks failed owing to differences over valuation.

Also Read: Can micro-delivery platforms give answer to loss-making online grocery businesses?

Giant online marketplaces have so far struggled to crack the grocery business. In February 2016, Flipkart shut down its grocery app Nearby after only five months of testing the service. Alibaba-backed Paytm also closed its grocery service in 2015. Post-2016 winter, only heavily-funded players majorly Grofers and Bigbasket survived.

According to a recent report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the country’s food retail market is expected to reach $915 billion (Rs 61 lakh crore) by 2020.

Helion Venture Partners: Website