Sachin Bansal's investments: Flipkart co-founder is betting big on these startups - Check details
Sachin Bansal, co-founder of e-commerce major Flipkart, has recently put money in many startup ventures. In February 2019, he invested Rs 650 crore or $92 million in Ola, a ride-hailing start-up in India. In addition to Ola, Bansal has also put money in other ventures, and now has found new calling in debt deals, said a Mint report, adding that Bansal has in the past two months accomplished five debt deals, which are given below:
Sachin Bansal, who made a personal fortune of close to $1 billion after selling Walmart last year, on Monday invested Rs 20 crore in debt in online grocery and milk delivery startup Milkbasket. Bansal’s investments reportedly focused on debt and thereby on capital protection. This in contrast with many of his peers in India’s startup sector, as they have invested, pursuing equity investments. The investment in Milkbasket marks Bansal’s fifth debt deal in the past two months. Image source: Youtube
Earlier on February 25, Bansal had invested Rs 250 crore each in debt in two non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), Altico Capital India Ltd and IndoStar Capital Finance Ltd. His investments in Altico and IndoStar took place at a time when non-banks were facing a liquidity crisis in the wake of a series of defaults at Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, starting in September 2018. Image source: Youtube
Last month, Sachin Bansal also invested $3 million each in debt in two scooter-sharing startups, Vogo and Bounce, acording to Mint report, adding that his debt play could be seen as an attempt to diversify his bets from the early equity investments he made as an angel investor over the years. Notably, debt is traditionally a source of stable but lower returns, unlike venture capital, where returns can be astronomical but are far riskier. Image source: OLA
Bansal, one of India’s first consumer internet entrepreneurs, has been actively looking to deploy the fortune he earned when he sold his 5.5-6% stake in Flipkart to Walmart, with Flipkart valued at $22 billion. Since then, he has invested $100 million in Ola. His investment in Ola was seen a move to strengthen its board and broaden its investor base. Image source: Reuters
Bansal has reportedly held discussions to invest $50-10 million in electric vehicle maker Ather Energy. He was also in talks with start-ups like SigTuple to put money, but there is no confirmation in this regard from Bansal so far. Image source: Facebook/Sachin Bansal