Mumbai: With high-profile brand ambassadors like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Sachin Tendulkar, just who are the low-profile investors of Hometrade.com? Euro Discover Technology Ventures (EDTV), a VC fund with investments from a set of NRIs, has invested "upwards of Rs 40 crore" in the financial services site, Hometrade.com according to Mr Sanjay Agarwal who heads EDTV. The fund's other investments include Buyeverything.com and Ways India. Mr Agarwal was unwilling to disclose any details about Buyeverything.com since the company is currently being incubated by the fund.Hometrade.com has appointed a consultancy firm to locate a CEO for the company according to Mr Agarwal. The company is currently being run by a Board of Directors.
EDTV is making investments from a fund whose size is "upwards of $50 million" according to Mr Agarwal who did not disclose the exact size of the fund or the names of investors. "They are individual NRI investors and I cannot disclose names" he said. The focus of the fund is on technology ventures according to Mr Agarwal.
Interestingly, EDTV's investment in what is today known as Hometrade.com began with its buyout of Lloyds Brokerage in September '98. "Valuations were down and it was a good opportunity for us to buy out a company with BSE and NSE memberships to start our venture," explains Mr Agarwal. Lloyds Brokerage was christened Euro Asian Securities post the buyout by EDTV. Euro Asian Securities is now rechristened Hometrade.com and offers a host of online financial and stock trading services.
The company recently launched a mass media advertising campaign featuring Sachin Tendulkar, Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh Khan. Hometrade has a global network of over 100 partnerships and alliances with leading froms like Reuters, Dow Jones, Standard & Poor, AFP, AT Kearney, Arthur Andersen, BSE and CMIE according to a company press release.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
