Exclusive: Stanza Living raises over $100 Mn led by Falcon Edge

While Tiger Global has emerged as the largest growth-stage backer in India and helped make over half a dozen unicorns in 2021, Alpha Wave Incubation or AWI has been deploying money at a quick pace too. 

The VC firm managed by Falcon Edge has participated in several high-profile deals including in the recent fundraise by CRED, Swiggy and Dream11 and has now infused over $100 million in Stanza Living through its two subsidiaries Alpha Wave Incubation and Moraine Master, regulatory filings with MCA shows.

The New Delhi-based company has approved the issue of 10 equity share and 8,430 Series D CCPS at an issue price of Rs 9,11,440 per share to Rs 769 crore or $102 million.

Prior to this round, Stanza Living has raised around $70 million across equity and debt rounds. The company was valued at $300 million during its last financing led by Falcon Edge in July 2019 and was reportedly in talks to raise around $120 million in its Series D round.

Falcon Edge has put in Rs 739.3 crore or $100 million in the new round while the rest of the amount came from Stanza Living’s other existing backers Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, Stanza Living has reached the post-money valuation of $470-500 million. 

Following the fresh round, Stanza Living’s founders Anindya Dutta and Sandeep Dalmia have had their stake diluted to a collective share of 26.2%. Falcon Edge has emerged as the largest stakeholder in the company holding 27.8% followed by Matrix and Accel Partners who now control 14.86% and 14.2% stake respectively.

Early backer Sequoia Capital has 11.8% stake in the three-year-old firm. The remaining of around 5% is with GHI India LLC and other stakeholders.

Stanza Living provides full-stack affordable accommodation facilities to students and migrating people which include food, housekeeping, security and other amenities.

Currently, the company has a presence in around 15 cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Indore. According to its website, Stanza Living manages more than 50,000 beds in over 150 residences across operating cities.

During FY20, Stanza Living’s operating revenue jumped 4.5X to Rs 74.53 crore from Rs 16.53 crore earned in FY19 while its annual losses climbed 7X to 119.4 crore in the same period.

The fresh funding in Stanza Living has come at a time when the managed accommodation and hospitality sector is facing challenges due to the spread of the Coronavirus. According to analysts, organised and unorganised accommodation businesses have recovered hardly 50% of their pre-Covid volume, and now with the second wave, they are set to see more disruption. 

Besides Stanza Living, ZoloStays and NestAway are other two prominent startups in the organised accommodation space. Funding wise, Tiger Global-backed NestAway and ZoloStays have so far mopped up $105 million and $90 million respectively. Oyo also used to have a presence in the space with Oyo Life. However, the vertical didn’t work out for the SoftBank-funded firm.