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Grapevine: KKR buys road asset; SoftBank looks to pare stake in FirstCry

By Shubhobrota Dev Roy

  • 14 Apr 2023
Grapevine: KKR buys road asset; SoftBank looks to pare stake in FirstCry
Credit: Reuters

Private equity firm KKR has signed agreements to acquire a toll road from Hyderabad-based Navayuga group, a media report said. 

The PE firm is buying Navayuga Udupi Tollway for an enterprise value of Rs 924 crore ($113.2 million), The Economic Times reported, citing two sources. 

Navayuga Udupi Tollway owns and operates a 90.1-km road project located in Karnataka. The project is part of the National Highway 66, which connects Mumbai to Kanyakumari. The toll road has a concession period of 25 years starting 2010.  

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Omnichannel retailer FirstCry is in talks with a few sovereign funds to allow some shareholders to sell a stake in the company at a valuation of nearly $3 billion, The Economic Times reported, citing three people in the know.   

These discussions started after talks with private equity firm Kedaara Capital fell through a few months ago, the report said. The talks are in the early stages. If a deal goes through, it could be a pre-IPO round for the company, it said.   

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Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank, the largest shareholder of the retailer of mother and baby products, is likely to sell a part of its 29% holding if the deal happens, according to the report.  

Vernacular content platform Bluepad has shut down its operations as the company was struggling to stay afloat, Entrackr reported, citing two people aware of the development.  

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Bluepad failed to raise money after its first round and decided to wind up operations, the report said.  

The Bengaluru-based startup had raised $244,000 in a pre-seed round led by Titan Capital and AngelList’s Syndicate in September 2021. 

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