Venture Catalysts-backed LegalPay bags cheque from Hedonova

By Anuj Suvarna

  • 02 Feb 2022
Credit: vccircle

LegalPay Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs litigation financing platform LegalPay, on Wednesday said it has racked up an undisclosed sum in a pre-Series A extension round from US-based hedge fund Hedonova. 

The New-Delhi based company had in last December secured an undisclosed capital in a funding led by Venture Catalysts and Amity Technology Incubator.   

“The deep-expertise that Hedonova brings on the table for massive over 12 asset classes is something we look forward to partner and grow together at an exponential pace.  

We are aggressively growing in the Indian market and such strategic partnerships will not only fuel our growth at a faster pace but also provide investors with more opportunities to invest,” said Kundan Shahi, Founder and CEO of LegalPay.

LegalPay, set up in 2019, targets mid-market companies, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), undergoing insolvencies, requiring Rs 10 lakh - 5 crore.    

The company claims to back commercial litigations and also offers interim finance. It aims to raise around 4-5 special purpose vehicles (SPVs) worth Rs 50 lakh, each totalling around Rs 3.5 - Rs 5 crore every month, across sectors including real estate, manufacturing and some specifically on size-focused firms.    

Interim finance is a short-term, secured lending for 6-18 months granted to the debt-ridden companies undergoing the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).    

In January, LegalPay rolled out an SPV and healthcare-focused fund for interim financing to mid-sized assets under bankruptcy and insolvency process with a minimum tenure of investment ranging between 12 and 18 months to up to 3-5 years.    

In October, the company offered interim finance to Bengaluru-and Ranchi-based Yashomati Hospitals Pvt Ltd under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).    

Last year in May, LegalPay secured an undisclosed sum in a seed funding round led by 9Unicorns-- the venture fund set up by incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts.    

Among LegalPay's investors are 9Unicorns, early-stage investment platform LetsVenture, and angel investors Ashwini Kakkar, Former Chairman of via.com, and Ambarish Gupta, founder of New York-based private equity firm Basis Vectors and founder of Knowlarity.    

Hedonova is a hedge fund that invests in a number of asset sectors, including art, startups, wine, equipment finance, litigation finance and music, among others. Hedonova had earlier invested in companies like SpaceX, Swiggy, Robinhood and Flexport.  

Suman Banerjee, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hedonova said, “The Fed's interest rate hikes coupled with frothy emerging market valuations are going to attract institutional capital back to the US leading to underperforming equity markets. India's high savings rate is rapidly being mobilized into financial assets and alternative assets are gaining momentum.  

LegalPay's team has the required professional experience, high strength of character, and the drive to capture the alternative investment market in India. We have invested in their pre-series A and plan to keep backing the team in follow-on rounds as well.”