Grapevine: Brookfield's biggest green bet in India; OfBusiness forays into food processing

By Shubhobrota Dev Roy

  • 11 Apr 2023
Credit: 123RF.com

Canadian investor Brookfield has agreed to invest $1 billion (around Rs 8210 crore) in Avaada Ventures in what will be its largest clean energy bet in the country, so far. 

A formal agreement was signed recently between Brookfield and serial entrepreneur Vineet Mittal, founder of the Avaada group, and the first tranche of $400 million has been disbursed, The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the matter.

The remaining $600 million will be disbursed based on performance-linked milestones as projects scale up. Avaada Ventures is the holding company of the group.

Microfinance company Arohan Financial Services has raised Rs 730 crore (nearly $89 million) in a share sale to private equity investors in one of the largest fund raises by an NBFC-MFI in India in the post-Covid era.

American asset manager Nuveen and Dutch development bank FMO have put in Rs 165 crore each in Arohan while Piramal Alternatives and a European development financial institution invested Rs 200 crore each.

The investment is in the form of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS), Arohan managing director Manoj Kumar Nambiar told ET in an interview.

Mayhem Studios, the mobile game development studio launched by Bengaluru-based esports and online gaming unicorn Mobile Premier League (MPL) last year, has raised $20 million in its Series A round led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Steadview Capital, TrueCaller and others, people aware of the development told ET.  

Bing Gordon, chief product officer at US-based venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, has participated in the round in his personal capacity. 

Sequoia Capital, which has led Mayhem Studios’ maiden external funding round, is also an investor in MPL. The gaming studio is a subsidiary of MPL, which offers fantasy sports, casual games and real money games on its platform.

Softbank and Tiger Global-backed OfBusiness has agreed to buy 100% of Koeleman India Pvt Ltd, marking its entry into the food processing sector, The Economic Times reported, citing a person involved in the deal.

OfBusiness, formally known as OFB Tech Pvt. Ltd, is a raw material procurement and financing platform for small and medium enterprises. The acquisition gives OfBusiness access to Koeleman India’s state-of-the-art food processing unit in Narsapura, Karnataka, and its export markets. 

Edtech firm Doubtnut has raised $2.5 million (around Rs 20 crore) via convertible notes from its existing investors Sequoia, Omidyar and Waterbridge, Entrackr reported, citing sources.

The co-curricular academics platform bled heavily in FY22 and spent Rs 194 crore during the year. The high burn-rate claimed most of its Series B round and the company was in a rush to secure new money following which it raised the funding in an internal round.  

While Doubtnut controlled its monthly burn by over 80% in March 2023 as compared to March 2022, it has found it tough to raise fresh capital and explored acquisition deals with several players, as per sources.

Shapoorji Pallonji Group, controlled by billionaire Shapoor Mistry, is weighing asset sales including a controlling stake in its flagship engineering firm that could raise about $2 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is working with an adviser to seek buyer for its holdings in Afcons Infrastructure Ltd., a Mumbai-based infrastructure construction company, the people said. SP Group is also looking to sell some ports, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. 

Gopalpur Port on the east coast of India could be among assets that SP Group is looking to sell, one of the people said.