There seems to be some good bit of fund flow in the IT sector these days, forcing studied corporate silence to start chirping again. Flipkart, Manthan Systems, Myntra and even Mahindra Satyam have all plunged into action. This was like a whiff of fresh air, amidst all the talk about the slowing economy.
E-commerce player Flipkart.com started it all when it announced the acquisition of another online retailer Letsbuy.com. Though the company did not disclose the value of the deal, it is said that it was in the $20-25 million range. The acquisition showed how much e-commerce has
developed as a business in India. Some five years ago, most analysts had written off the industry.
Flipkart.com went live in 2007 with the objective of making books available to anyone who had internet access. But since then, the e-commerce player has diversified into many other products. It will be interesting to see how the business develops from now. Flipkart is already on a fast growth curve. The acquisition was especially interesting since it came just a week after Amazon?s entry into India through Junglee.com.
In the case of Manthan Systems, a business intelligence and analytics solutions provider for the retail and consumer packaged goods industries, it has managed to source $15 million from Norwest Venture Partners in series C funding, just when people thought raising capital was impossible in the backdrop of the slowdown. Next up, is a possible IPO.
The latest funding comes two years after its series B round when Manthan Systems raised $15 million from a consortium led by Fidelity International, along with existing investors IDG Ventures and DFJ. In between, fashion retailer Myntra raised $21 million. Tiger Global led the round for Myntra with participation from existing investors IndoUS Venture Partners, IDG Ventures India and Accel Partners.
This was followed by Mahindra Satyam picking up 15% stake in Dion Global Solutions for an undisclosed amount. The
company, formerly called Satyam Computer Services (SCS) thus effectively told the world that its turn around is complete, even since being rocked by founder Ramalinga Raju?s damning revelations on accounting frauds in the company.
Mahindra Satyam currently has consolidated cash and cash equivalents of over R3,000 crore.
Owned by billionaire brothers Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Dion Global Solutions is a publicly-listed company offering solutions and services for global capital markets covering portfolio management, trading, settlement, risk management, analytics, treasury and research services.
The company, which services more than 660 clients in 62 countries, intends to utilise the proceeds from the investment under consideration to further enhance its offerings and its geographic reach.
The developments have cheered the sector immensely over the last two weeks and all of a sudden there is plenty of talk about how it is time for people to find opportunities where they thought none existed. Fishing in troubled waters is indeed an art form.
