Delhi-based student accommodation platform Stanza Living is in the process of securing $30 million (Rs 210 crore at current exchange rates) from New York-based hedge fund Falcon Edge, The Economic Times reported, citing two people in the know.
Falcon Edge is presently conducting due diligence for the transaction. Stanza Living is expected to raise a total of $50 million in fresh capital, the report stated.
The company is also in the final stages of discussions with three to four global marquee investors, the ET report stated, citing one of the persons mentioned above.
Stanza Living will use the fresh proceeds to expand its existing operations, further develop its technology platform and may consider acquiring competitors, the report added.
Owned and operated by Dtwelve Spaces Pvt. Ltd, the startup was founded in February 2017 by Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta. It offers students, particularly those moving to new cities, managed and shared fully furnished accommodation. It has also partnered with restaurants, fitness centres and other such institutions, through which it provides its residents rewards. Besides accommodation, the startup offers students the opportunity to connect with alumni, internship opportunities as well as guidance on online study materials.
In March this year, it secured $4.4 million (Rs 30 crore) in venture debt from Alteria Capital.
Falcon Edge has been investing more in India. In January, VCCircle reported that the investment firm was raising capital for an India-focussed investment vehicle. Its investments this year include logistics-tech startup Locus and retail intelligence platform Vue.ai.
Jaypee Infratech’s lenders consider NBCC’s revised bid
The Committee of Creditors of debt-ridden developer Jaypee Infratech have put the revised acquisition bid of state-owned NBCC (India) Ltd for a vote, two people in the know told The Economic Times.
Jaypee Infratech’s home buyers and financial creditors will vote on NBCC’s revised proposal on Thursday and will conclude on Sunday, one of the individuals mentioned above told ET.
The development comes after NBCC received the government’s approval to acquire the stressed assets of Jaypee Infratech.
On 26 April, Jaypee’s lenders had rejected NBCC’s initial proposal on grounds that it was subject to approval from various government authorities.
Jaypee’s CoC also rejected a bid by Suraksha Realty-led consortium, giving NBCC another chance at buying out the realty developer.
Local-language content and news aggregator Dailyhunt is in early stages of discussions to raise more than $150 million from Japanese internet conglomerate SoftBank, two persons privy to the development told Mint.
The Masayoshi Son-led firm is also in discussions with another regional content startup, one of the persons mentioned above told the business daily.
Dailyhunt most recently secured capital in March this year from New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs’ hedge fund, which invested $173 million (Rs 1,224 crore) into the venture.
Formerly known as Newshunt, the company was launched in 2009 by former Nokia executives Umesh Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Sohoni. It was sold to Versé in 2012 and was rebranded as Dailyhunt in August 2015. The venture uses a proprietary algorithm to deliver personalised news content. It offers news articles licenced from thousands of content partners and contributors in 14 languages.
In March, SoftBank said it will launch its biggest fund for investments in early-stage startups across Asia. Christened SoftBank Ventures Asia, the fund will be worth as much as $500 million and it has set up a dedicated office in Seoul.
Early this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that SoftBank Group Corp was considering floating its $100-billion Vision Fund on the stock exchanges in an initial public offering.
Hinduja’s show interest in debt-laden Jet Airways
The lenders of beleaguered Jet Airways and its minority shareholder Etihad Airways have initiated exploratory discussions with the Hinduja Group for the latter to pick up stake in the debt-ridden airline, several people in the know told The Economic Times.
While the group has not made any commitment, it has shown interest, wherein Etihad was referred to Ashok Hinduja, the younger of the two brothers who run the entity, the report added.
The development comes after Jet Airways’ chief executive officer Vinay Dube, chief financial officer Amit Agarwal and company secretary and compliance head Kuldeep Sharma resigned from the company this week.
Last week, Etihad had offered to re-invest in Jet Airways but subject to conditions, wherein it stated that it cannot be the sole investor. The lenders for the grounded airline are offering to sell 75% worth of stake.
Jet Airways is saddled with bank debt worth $1.2 billion and it owes large dues to its lessors, employees, fuel suppliers and other parties. It suspended operations in April after lenders led by State Bank of India refused to inject emergency capital into it. The SBI-led consortium of lenders had also started a process to find a buyer for Jet.
