99 Pancakes Raises Rs 20 Cr Series A funding

99 Pancakes, India's quick service restaurant chain specializing in pancakes, said that it raised Rs 20 crore in a recent Series A funding round. This significant investment is received from family office, which will fuel the company's ambitious pan-India expansion strategy, focusing on increasing its presence in Tier 1 cities and beyond.

99 Pancakes has opened four new outlets this month and in the month of September it plans to open eight new outlets. The company is currently focusing on expansion of its brunch network in the state of Gujarat, with new locations slated for Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Anand, Surat, and Vapi.

Vikesh Shah, founder of 99 Pancakes, started his first pancake outlet in Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda area in 2017. Today we have total of 40 plus outlets in more than 10 cities.

Shankara Building Products planning to reduce its debt further post #IPO

Price Band for the Shankara Building Products IPO is fixed at Rs. 440 to Rs. 460 per Equity Share. The Offer will constitute at least 25% of the post Offer paid-up Equity Share capital of the Company.The Offer is being made through the Book Building Process.

Shankara Building Products is planning to reduce its debt further post #IPO pic.twitter.com/Kk3Oio8myI

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) March 17, 2017

The company expects to raise about Rs.45 crore by selling new shares, existing investor Fairwinds Trustees of Reliance PE will sell 5.7 million equity shares. Founder and managing director Sukumar Srinivas will sell 816,252 shares through the offer for sale (OFS) route.Shankara Building plans to use Rs.38 crore to retire debt and the rest for expansion of its retail network.

Brokerage-free property search portal @nobrokercom raises $7 mn ( INR 50 cr.) led by Korean #VC Firm @KTBNETWORK

This latest funding round was led by KTB Network and existing investors of NoBroker.com - SAIF Partners, BEENEXT & Digital Garage also participated in the funding.

Brokerage-free property search portal @nobrokercom raises $7 mn ( INR 50 cr.) led by Korean #VC Firm @KTBNETWORK pic.twitter.com/M2SoJE8tLB

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 19, 2016

Amit Agarwal, CEO & Co- Founder, NoBroker.com, said “This is special because this is the first time that a Korean fund has led the funding round for an Indian startup. Their Korean start up experiences will help us further with innovative ideas so that we can continue to grow exponentially. We are at an excellent position now in terms of customer growth and financials. Global network of KTB will also aid us in our future global ambitions.”
NoBroker.com has seen a steady growth curve this year. Though the real estate sector saw a series of and ups and downs this year complete with many mergers and acquisitions. NoBroker registered sustained growth matrix. The year started with NoBroker.com raising $10 million in Series B funding. The last couple of months saw entrepreneurial stalwarts like Anand Chandrasekaran and Vijay Shekhar Sharma also investing undisclosed amounts in NoBroker.com. "We are glad to have KTB as our investor. These additional funds have put us in a strong position from overall capital perspective. Our aim is to use these funds to expand rapidly and move towards becoming the number one online real estate player in India in terms of closed transactions in next 24 months" says Akhil Gupta , CTO & Co- Founder, NoBroker.com.

Bank of #Maharashtra raises Rs 500 cr. via private placement

Bank of #Maharashtra raises Rs 500 cr. via private placement pic.twitter.com/pkkTkyRazC

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 16, 2016

Bank of Maharashtra has successfully raised Rs 500 crore on 15 December 2016 by issue of BASEL III Compliant Unsecured Perpetual Non-Convertible Additional Tier I Bonds on private placement basis.

#DHFL to raise Rs 4,000 cr. via CPI linked debentures

DHFL plans to mop up up to Rs 4,000 crore through a maiden issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with an the option of linking the coupon with CPI or Consumer Price Index (Inflation). The issue size is Rs 1,000 crore with an option to retain over-subscription of up to Rs 4,000 crore.The proceeds of issue will be used for onward lending, financing and debt reduction.The issue opens for subscription on August 3rd and closes on August 16th.

#DHFL to raise Rs 4,000 cr. via CPI linked debentures pic.twitter.com/kMbd5sDpdE

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) August 1, 2016

The annual yield of the NCD issue would go up to 9.2-9.3 per cent, depending upon the class of investors.

#HDFC Capital invests Rs. 300 cr. in #Bangalore based real estate company @Totalenv

HDFC Capital, through it’s recently raised off-shore fund has made it's first equity Investment of Rs. 300 Crores, with the Bangalore-based Total Environment Group.

#HDFC Capital invests Rs. 300 cr. in #Bangalore based real estate company Total Environment pic.twitter.com/wrq14dloSn

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) July 26, 2016

This investment brings in financial closure for our 5 major projects currently under construction and will enable us to immediately infuse Rs. 400 cr into the construction of these projects with the single  objective of accelerating delivery, said Kamal Sagar, Founder and Director of Total Environment. The group which completed 20 years earlier this month, has delivered 30 projects in Bangalore and Pune and earned itself a reputation for high quality design and construction in a very difficult industry. In it’s new projects, the group is also venturing into smaller, more affordable homes, but with the quality and all the features of a typical Total Environment Home.
 "The company will now focus all its efforts on hastening the pace of construction in order to be able to deliver quickly", added Kamal.

Quess Corp plans to raise Rs.400 crore through IPO

Bengaluru-headquartered  Quess Corp Limited promoted by Ajit Isaac and Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) will launch its initial public offering (“IPO” or “Issue”), which opens on June 29, 2016 and closes on July 1, 2016, with a price band of Rs. 310 – Rs. 317 per Equity Share of face value of Rs. 10 each.

Quess Corp plans to raise Rs.400 crore through IPO pic.twitter.com/seLudD4nQN

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) June 28, 2016

 The company plans to raise Rs.400 crore through fresh issue of shares.QCL offers business services, including recruitment, temporary staffing, technology staffing, IT products and solutions.

The Company proposes to utilize the net proceeds of the Issue for repayment of debt availed by the Company; funding capital expenditure requirements of the Company and its Subsidiary, MFXchange US, Inc.; funding incremental working capital requirement of the Company; acquisitions and other strategic initiatives and general corporate purposes.

Axis Capital Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, IIFL Holdings Limited and YES Securities (India) Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers (“BRLMs”) to the Issue. The Registrar to the Issue is Link Intime India Private Limited.

@anandmahindra invests in @SheThePeopleTV

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group has invested an undisclosed amount in a digital storytelling platform for women achievers.Mahindra has invested in his private capacity in the video platform SheThePeople.TV founded by TV journalist Shaili Chopra.

@anandmahindra invests in @SheThePeopleTV pic.twitter.com/q7q1mz5nUM

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 24, 2016

Regarding his decision to support the platform, Mr Mahindra said ‘Women need a space that quenches their intellectual hunger, engages, and empowers them with relatable content. With Shaili as founder possessing a solid understanding of both conventional and digital media over 15 years, I have great confidence that SheThePeople.TV will become a focal point of inspiration for tomorrow’s women leaders.’
The funds will help SheThePeople with its future expansion plans as it launches new initiatives including forums, events and regional languages.
Since its inception, SheThePeople.TV has profiled stories of nearly 10,000 inspiring women including entrepreneurs, authors, game-changers, sportswomen, corporate executives among others.

#VRLLogistics plans regional airline, promoters may sell 2% stake in VRL

#VRLLogistics plans regional airline, promoters may sell 2% stake in VRL pic.twitter.com/MDP1wW3FVS

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 24, 2016

Company promoters Vijay Sankeshwar and Anand Sankeshwar will, however, continue to own a majority stake in VRL Logistics after the stake sale.VRL currently has a fleet 4107 Commercial Vehicles, which includes 368 Passenger Transport Vehicles & 3739 Goods Transport Vehicles.The move has created some controversy as the promoters did not take share holders' approval for the same.

Statement of the day: VRL Logistics chairman says "I am not bothered about shareholders", will go ahead with aviation biz. I am Speecheless!

— Anuj Singhal (@_anujsinghal) May 24, 2016

B V Chandrashekar buys stake in Gapoon from previous investor Chandrashekar Tallapragada

B V Chandrashekar buys stake in Gapoon from previous investor Chandrashekar Tallapragada pic.twitter.com/c8MDe4aqgO

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 17, 2016

Gapoon was founded in 2015 by Apoorva Mishra, Ankita Asai, Ankit Bindal and Nikhil Gupta, with the aim of providing a one-click, one-stop solution for all home maintenance requirements. The company received its first found of angel funding in July 2015.The Bengaluru-based startup, which offers home maintenance services in both on-demand and subscription model, has secured close to $180K from a group of investors.

Zenify raises Rs 6 cr. in Pre-Series A round funding

Zenify, a home aggregator and rental management start-up based in Bengaluru has raised Pre-Series A funding of INR 6 crores from High Networth Individuals (HNI), who have a minor stake in Zenify. Zenify will use the raised funds to further expand their range of services in India and strengthen its team to compliment their capabilities.

Zenify raises Rs 6 cr. in Pre-Series A round funding pic.twitter.com/7q8cPYPKG8

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 11, 2016

The company had earlier raised Rs 4 crore in angel funding from Srikanth and Bharath from K12 Techno Service Pvt. Ltd & Atul Jalan, Founder & CEO of Mathan Software Service Pvt Ltd. Zenify, today has a total funding of Rs. 10 crore.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, the technology driven startup, has simplified home rentals and brings in standardisation for home rentals.

Lenskart raises Rs. 400 cr. #venturecapital funding from IFC, Ratan Tata & others

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing Rs. 171 Crores in Indian eyewear company Lenskart, to help the company expand access to high-quality and affordable eye-care products in tier-3, tier-4 cities. IFC was the lead investor for the Rs. 400 crores Series D investment round which also saw participation from TPG Growth, Adveq Management and IDG Ventures. In addition, Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder of Infosys) invested in their personal capacity as part of this round. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to this transaction.

Lenskart raises Rs. 400 cr. #venturecapital funding from IFC, Ratan Tata & others pic.twitter.com/MdjhVKqAHz

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 4, 2016

Lenskart is into assembly, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and supply of high quality eyewear products, such as eyeglasses, power sunglasses and contact lenses. Company plans to utilize the funds for strengthening its technology, supply chain, lens manufacturing, and expanding reach of its high-quality eyewear products across 400 cities.

Peyush Bansal, Founder and CEO of Lenskart said: “IFC is a long-term partner with global knowledge and a broad network of Internet, technology and healthcare clients, including in the eye care space. We appreciate IFC for their support to our vision of ‘Lenskart glasses in every home’”. We will be able to draw on IFC’s extensive global experience in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors, particularly in supply chain development and capacity building to realize its potential and develop best practices, he further added.

Online test preparation platform @Oliveboard raises funding

Edtech Startup Oliveboard has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from India Educational Investment Fund (IEIF), an early stage impact investment fund established by Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Founded by former Inmobi employees, Satish Kumar & Abhishek Patil, Oliveboard is an online test preparation platform for MBA & job oriented competitive exams such as SBI PO, IBPS PO & SSC CGL.

Abhishek Patil, CEO & Co-founder of Oliveboard said, “With most competitive exams being conducted online, young adults preparing for these exams are increasingly looking at online courses as an alternative to books & institutes.  We provide these aspirants with a one-stop place for all learning & practice with their study synchronized across mobile & PC. We’re excited about working with IEIF and will continue to use technology to deliver education in newer, more effective ways while still keeping it affordable. The funds will be utilized to increase our marketing efforts, build content and further strengthen our mobile technology.”

Established and funded by Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, IEIF is a US-based fund which is part of a larger effort of the Foundation to support early-stage investing in education startups that support urban, low income families in India.

@airpegasusindia plans to raise Rs.100 crore to add more ATR aircrafts

South India focused low cost regional airline Air Pegasus plans to raise Rs.100 crore to add more ATR  aircrafts in its current fleet of 3 ATRs."We are in talks with angel investors as well as our existing investors to raise the funds," said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director, Air Pegasus.

@airpegasusindia plans to raise Rs.100 crore to add more ATR aircrafts pic.twitter.com/z542vq65TX

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) April 14, 2016

The company is expected to add two more aircraft within a month and have ordered five more aircrafts to connect new destinations including Goa, Pondicheery, Kochi and Vijaywada. Air Pegasus has carried 2,80,000 passengers with a load factor of 82% in the first year of its opration. Air Pegasus currently operates from Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore  to Hubli, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Mangalore and Chennai. But has suspended its flights to Kadapa due to inadequate load factor.

#Airtel4GDrive @airtelindia to buy @Aircel 's 4G spectrum in 8 circles for Rs.3,500 crore

#Airtel4GDrive @airtelindia to buy @Aircel 's 4G spectrum in 8 circles for Rs.3,500 crore pic.twitter.com/9hkCO9AZJZ

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) April 8, 2016

Bharti Airtel Ltd subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Ltd has entered into a definitive agreement with Aircel Ltd and its subsidiaries Dishnet Wireless Ltd and Aircel Cellular Ltd to acquire rights to use 20 megahertz (MHz) 2300 band 4G TD spectrum in the eight circles.These circles are Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, the North-East, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.Last month, Bharti Airtel agreed to buy rival Videocon Telecommunications Ltd’s entire spectrum for Rs.4,428 crore.

#Blackstone to buy #Mphasis from #HP

This is  the largest acquisition by Blackstone in India.HP currently owns 60.5 percent of Mphasis.HP has said the purchase by Blackstone of its shares at Rs.430 ($6.5) a share values its 60.5 percent stake at about US$825 million.As per the takeover code, this transaction will trigger a mandatory open offer for a purchase of additional 26 percent shares of the company.

Bengaluru-based startup @GapoonServices gets Rs 1.2 crore venture fundung

Bengaluru-based startup Gapoon offering home maintenance services in both on-demand and subscription model, has secured funding of Rs 1.2 crore from a group of investors, including entrepreneur and investor, Chandrashekar Tallapragada.

Gapoon was founded in 2015 by four IIT-graduates, Apoorva Mishra, Ankita Asai, Ankit Bindal and  Nikhil Gupta, with the aim of providing a one-click, one-stop solution for all home maintenance requirements. The company received its first found of angel funding in July 2015.

@kartrocket closes $8 million round of #funding

e-commerce enabler, KartRocket, has announced the completion of their $8 million round with the addition of a Japanese investor. Their existing investors include Bertelsmann India Investments(BII), Nirvana Digital India Fund, Nirvana Digital Investment Holding Co. Ltd., US-based 500 Start-Ups and Singapore-based Beenext which participated in the recent round of funding.
 

@kartrocket closes $8 million round of #funding pic.twitter.com/a1qIpJnke8

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) March 16, 2016

Major part of the funding will be mobilized towards enhancing the next gen mobile marketplace Kraftly, which is a mobile-first O2O marketplace targeting small seller communities and homepreneurs in India in long-tail categories such as apparel, accessories, home, crafts, and other unique and eclectic products. The platform can be accessed via web as well as both, Android and iOS apps.

Saahil Goel, CEO & Co-founder, KartRocket said,“Keeping in mind Kraftly’s single vision of allowing every seller to participate in e-commerce, the investment will help us with cutting-edge product development, talent acquisition, seller eco-system development and performance marketing.”

He further added,“To expand our scope of business in India’s fast growing e-commerce industry, we have appointed two quintessential business figures. Ankit Sood has taken over the role of Chief Financial Officer& Akshay Ghulati-Chief Business Officer for Kraftly.While both of them possess an avid knowledge & experience in areas of business growth & financial sectors, their presence will help in bolstering the growth of our company.”

Currently boasting of more than 15,000 shops, Kraftly adds over 17,000 listings per day, according to a company press release.

HCG #IPO opens tomorrow in the Price Band of Rs. 205 – Rs. 218

Bengaluru based Cancer care network operator HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG), will enter the capital markets with its initial public offering (“IPO”) from March 16, 2016 to March 18, 2016, with a price band of Rs. 205 – Rs. 218 per equity share of face value of Rs. 10 each. The Anchor Investors shall bid one Working Day prior to the Bid/Offer Opening Date i.e. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

According to Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi,the IPO consists of a fresh issue of up to 11.6 million equity shares by the Company and an Offer for Sale of up to 18.2 million equity shares by existing shareholders.

The Offer is being made through the Book Building Process wherein at least 75% of the Offer will be allotted on a proportionate basis to Qualified Institutional Buyers (“QIBs”). The Company in consultation with the Investor Selling Shareholders and BRLMs, may allocate up to 60% of the QIB Portion to Anchor Investors at the Anchor Investor Offer Price on a discretionary basis, out of which one-third shall be reserved for domestic Mutual Funds only. Additionally, 5% of the QIB Portion (excluding the Anchor Investor Portion) will be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Mutual Funds only, and the remainder of the QIB Portion will be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to all QIB Bidders (other than Anchor Investors), including Mutual Funds, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Offer Price.

Further, not more than 15% of the Offer will be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Non-Institutional Bidders and not more than 10% of the Offer will be available for allocation to Retail Individual Bidders in accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Offer Price. All potential investors (except Anchor Investors) shall participate in this Offer only through the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (“ASBA”) process.

The Company proposes to utilize the net proceeds of the fresh issue towards; (i) Purchase of medical equipment, (ii) Investment in IT software, services and hardware, (iii) Pre-payment of debt and (iv) General corporate purposes.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited, IDFC Securities Limited, IIFL Holdings Limited and Yes Bank Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers while Karvy Computershare Private Limited is the Registrar to Offer.

The offer would constitute up to 35.03% of the Company’s post-offer paid-up equity share capital.

The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and the NSE.

Patni brothers & @CampdenWealth join hands to connect India’s ultra-high net worth family businesses

Amit Patni, through his family office, RAAY Investments along with Arihant Patni today announced an alliance with UK based Campden Wealth to bring its integrated global membership platform to India. Catering to the unique needs of India’s ultra-high net worth community, family business owners and their family offices, Campden Family Connect aims to bring international best practices to the Indian family offices by building an exclusive community for prominent global and Indian family principals to exchange ideas and knowledge through peer-to-peer networking events and access to pioneering research.
Established in 1987, Campden Wealth is an independent family owned business providing unrivalled knowledge and intelligence to a community of the world's wealthiest families, their family offices and ultra-high net worth investors. Through its distinguished approach, Campden Family Connect be an exclusive community for principals of families and their next generation.
 

Patni brothers & @CampdenWealth join hands to connect India’s ultra-high net worth family businesses pic.twitter.com/r58T77ij7l

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) March 14, 2016

Campden Family Connect, is a first of its kind of alliance, which aspires to establish a premier Indian ultra-high net worth membership community providing Indian business families global networking opportunities as well as access to international best practices in family business, family office and generational education. In addition, the program will offer wide array of benefits including personalized introduction to other community members across businesses to enable a cohesive professional connect. Further, members will be entitled to indigenously articulated wealth management intelligence report offering sectorial view of business trends. The members will gain from substantial global insights on advisory and upcoming trends paralleled with relevant and timely information and education required for thoughtful decision-making.

Campden Family Connect will also offer admission to the world class conferences, roundtables and co-investment workshops conducted across the globe along with participation in private member briefings.  Members can also benefit from priority application when applying for generational education programs.