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Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant

EntrackrEntrackr · 22d ago
Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant
Medial

Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant Omnichannel jewellery retailer Bluestone has expanded its existing ESOP plan to $80 million by adding additional employee stock options for its employees. The board at Bluestone has passed a resolution for approval to add 42,43,312 employee stock options to its existing plan, bringing the total ESOP pool to 1,17,27,642 options, its regulatory filing accessed through the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. According to Entrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOPs are worth around Rs 245 crore or around $29 million. Out of the newly added stock options, Rs 92.6 crore ($11 million) will be granted to the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Sudeep Nagar. This addition brings the total value of Bluestone’s ESOP pool to Rs 678 crore or around $80 million. Notably, these valuations are based on the company's last funding round, where it raised around Rs 900 crore pre-IPO round led by Prosus, out of which Rs 300 crore is secondary. Ahead of Bluestone’s IPO, Global consumer internet group Prosus values the company at $950 million, just shy of unicorn status ahead of its IPO. Prosus has valued its stake in BlueStone at $42 million, as per its latest annual report. The stake, held through its fund MIH Investments One B.V., represents a 4.43% ownership in the jewellery brand. As per ET report, Bluestone is all set to join the unicorn status with secondary transactions worth Rs 300-350 crore by private wealth management arms of 360 One and Centrum Wealth. This will value the company at $1.2 billion. In December 2024, Bluestone filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an IPO, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 1,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2.398 crore shares, allowing a full exit for Samma Capital, IvyCap Ventures, and Kalaari Capital. Founded in 2011, omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone offers high-value gold and diamond jewellery, including rings, pendants, chains, and earrings, through its retail stores and online platform. As per its DRHP, the company operates over 203 stores across 86 cities. BlueStone has raised around $262 million across multiple funding rounds from investors such as Accel, Prosus, Peak XV Partners, 360 One, Kalaari Capital, and others, according to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. In FY24, BlueStone’s revenue grew 64% year-on-year to Rs 1,266 crore, up from Rs 771 crore in FY23. The company also trimmed its losses by 15% during the same period, bringing them down to Rs 142 crore.

Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus
Medial

Mobility firm Rapido is set to raise $50-60 million in a mix of primary and secondary capital from Prosus, according to three sources familiar with the deal. This tranche is part of its ongoing $200 million round. “Prosus will acquire a $60 million stake in Rapido. The terms of the deal have been finalized, and it will also enable partial exits for early backers,” said one of the sources, requesting anonymity. Rapido has already secured $120 million in its Series E funding round from WestBridge Capital, through investment vehicles including SETU AIF and Konark. Entrackr had exclusively decoded this tranche in August. “With Prosus’s $60 million, Rapido will conclude its Series E round,” said another source, who also wished to remain anonymous. Sources indicate that the company’s valuation will remain unchanged. According to estimates from startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Rapido was valued at around $1.02 billion in the initial tranche of the Series E round, funded entirely by WestBridge. Queries sent to Rapido and Prosus didn’t elicit any immediate response. We will update the story in case they do. It’s worth noting that Prosus is the largest stakeholder in food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy. Swiggy acquired over a 12% stake in Rapido after leading its $180 million funding round in November 2022. Prosus’s interest in Rapido comes at a time when Rapido has surpassed Ola and Uber to become the largest player in the overall ride-hailing space (covering bikes, autos, and cabs), according to Rapido’s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr. Rapido has yet to disclose its FY24 numbers, but the firm’s operating revenue tripled to Rs 443 crore in FY23. This steep growth in scale also led to a 54% increase in losses, reaching Rs 675 crore in FY23.

Captain Fresh raises $25 Mn in ongoing funding round

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Captain Fresh raises $25 Mn in ongoing funding round
Medial

Captain Fresh, a fish and seafood tech startup, has raised $25 million as part of a continuing larger funding round. The extension of the series C round is joined by Nekkanti seafoods group and British International Investment (BII), a UK-based development finance institution and impact investor, and a few family offices. Proceeds will be used to fuel its distribution presence in the US and Europe, and enhance multi-origin vertically integrated seafood platform, among others, the company said in a press release. With this, Captain Fresh has raised a total of $45 million across multiple tranches in its Series C extended round with $20 million raised in September last year. Strategic Business Innovators (SBI) and Evolvence fund led the first tranche with participation from Tiger Global, Prosus, Accel and Matrix Partners India. The firm also raised $13 million in January this year and will close the extended Series C at $48 million. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Captain Fresh was valued at around $480 million when it raised $13 million and is likely to close the ongoing round at $500 million. Five-year-old Captain Fresh’s product portfolio encompasses over 100 species of fish and seafood, sourced from over a dozen countries globally and catering to customers in more than 30 countries. Captain Fresh has offices in India, the US, Dubai, Paris, Oslo, Amsterdam and Madrid. The firm claims that it handles over 80,000 metric tonnes of seafood annually with India constituting 90% of this. Some percentage of demand also comes from Southeast Asia. Captain Fresh recently completed the acquisition of a 40-year-old, Paris-based, shrimp cooker and distributor, Senecrus, as part of its EU expansion strategy. As per TheKredible, Captain Fresh’s gross revenue surged nearly 4X to Rs 817 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023 while its losses also shot up 2.6X to Rs 294 crore in the same period.

Exclusive: Decoding Bluestone’s pre-IPO round

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Exclusive: Decoding Bluestone’s pre-IPO round
Medial

Omnichannel jewellery retailer Bluestone has raised Rs 600 crore (approximately $72 million) led by Prosus (through its subsidiary MIH Investments) and with participation from Steadview, Think Investments, and Pratithi Growth Fund. The board at Bluestone has passed a special resolution 1,03,80,622 Series H compulsory cumulative preference shares at an issue price of Rs 578 to raise Rs 600 crore or $72 million, its internal fining accessed by Entrackr from Registrar of Companies show. Prosus led the round with Rs 351 crore or $42.2 million while Steadview Capital, Think Investments and Pratithi Growth Fund pumped in Rs 80 crore, Rs 84 crore, and Rs 35 crore respectively. The 27 other investors participated with the rest of the primary capital into Bluestone. This is part of an earlier reported Rs 900 crore pre-IPO round out of which Rs 300 crore is secondary. The funds will be used for expansion, ongoing operations, capital expenditure, and other general corporate purposes, the filing further added. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the company has been valued at around $972 million post-allotment. Following the fresh proceeds, Prosus holds 4.48% of the company while Steadview Capital, Think Investments and Pratithi Growth command 1.04%, 1.10%, and 1.08%, respectively. Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, Bluestone provides an extensive jewellery collection for both men and women, available through its website and network of offline stores. According to the firm’s website, it operates over 190 stores across 75 cities. Bluestone continued to grow its revenue and narrow losses in the fiscal year ending March 2023. During the fiscal, the firm achieved 65% year-on-growth and its collection stood at Rs 787 crore. Its losses dwindled 87% to Rs 167 crore. It’s yet to file its annual results for FY24. Bluestone’s close competitor CaratLane, which is owned by Titan, reported Rs 3,081 crore revenue with Rs 79 crore profit in FY24.

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