India’s start-up ecosystem has been growing well. With the Government initiative to boost startups, there has been an exponential growth in the number of startups. Hence, positive growth in the number of well-built startups and ideas.
Even though in comparison to 2017, there were fewer acquisitions in the start-up ecosystem in 2018, this sector has shown good growth. In 2018, a total of 118 acquisition deals were recorded in the Indian startup ecosystem as compared to 129 deals in the previous year. The lower number of acquisition number is an indicator that the Indian start-up scene is growing mature about the business aspect of things.
It is not about acquiring more assets or being the first one in a particular sector anymore. It is more about the business aspect of things. Profitability, customer base, the viability of the acquired assets has become the main goal of the startup market.
As we head into 2019, here is a look back into the 10 acquisition deals that caught our eye this year.
1) Flipkart-Walmart Deal
2018 saw the record-breaking acquisition in the Indian start-up sector. American giant Walmart acquired 77% stake in the Indian e-commerce superstar Flipkart for a whopping $16 Billion deal.
2) WalnutCapital Float
Capital Float acquired 100% stake in Walnut, an Indian start-up in the fintech sector based out of Pune. The deal size was $30 million.
3) Zomato-TongueStun
Zomato acquired TongueStun, a Foodtech start-up based out of Bengaluru. The deal, signed in September of 2018 was of $5 million for 100% stake in the company.
4) Amazon- Tapzo
American giant Amazon acquired Indian customer service start-up Tapzo in August 2018 for an estimated $40-$45 million.
5) Mettl-Mercer
Mercer acquired Mercer acquired Mettl, a Talent assessment start-up based out of Gurugram. For an estimated $35-$50 million, Mercer got 100% stake in Mettl.
6) FoodPanda-HolaChef
Foodpanda, owned by Ola, acquired HolaChef in October for 100% stake. HolaChef is a Foodtech start-up in Mumbai.
7) PhonePe- Zopper Retail
PhonePe, owned by Flipkart acquired Zopper, a PoS based in Noida. The July 2018 deal went for an undisclosed size for complete ownership of Zopper Retail.
8)Trulecaller-Chillr
Truecaller acquired 100% stake in Chillr, a digital payment App from Kerala. The June 2018 deal went for an undisclosed amount.
9)Paytm-TicketNew
Paytm acquired the online ticketing app TicketNew for $30-$40 million. TicketNew is currently integrated with Paytm. The deal took place in May.
10)Ola-Ridlr
Uber’s cut-throat rival in India, Ola acquired the Mumbai based transport start-up Ridlr in April 2018. Having $6.4 million in disclosed funding, Ridlr was sold off to Ola for an undisclosed amount.
As we end 2018, Indian entrepreneurs will remember this year for one unforgettable lesson it taught them:
“Howsoever attractive billion-dollar cheques may seem, equity funding comes with liability. And the only way to have a truly successful exit is to build a revenue-led venture, which you can cash in on at the right time.”
Here’s hoping Indian startups a wiser, stronger, and better year ahead.
