Merchant payments and financial services provider BharatPe has raised $370 million in a primary and secondary mix, as a part of a Series E funding round led by new investor New York-based Tiger Global Management.
Other new investors include Dragoneer Investor Group and Steadfast Capital, who have participated as a part of this round.
The round makes BharatPe the latest entrant to India’s growing list of unicorn startups, with its valuation rising more than threefold to $2.85 billion in six months. The company had raised $108 million in February this year at a valuation of $900 million. The current fundraise saw new investor Tiger Global infuse $100 million in the startup, with Dragoneer and Steadfast investing $25 million each, as a part of this round.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Coatue Management, Amplo and Ribbit Capital have invested a combined $200 million in the company as a part of its current Series E fundraise.
The round includes a $20 million secondary raise, to create a liquidity event for employees and angel investors in the company. This is the third liquidity event for BharatPe’s employees with vested options.
{{/usCountry}}The round includes a $20 million secondary raise, to create a liquidity event for employees and angel investors in the company. This is the third liquidity event for BharatPe’s employees with vested options.
{{/usCountry}}Suhail Sameer, who was the group president, is now the chief executive officer (CEO) and will be responsible for driving the company’s monetization, lending and recent banking foray. He will also join BharatPe’s board of directors.
BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover will assume the role of managing director at the company and will continue driving its strategy, technology and product functions, as well as managing capital fundraising.
“Our initial plan was to raise $250 million. However, the round was heavily oversubscribed. We believe that the $350 million primary raise will give us enough runway for the next three years, after which we may look at listing in the public markets. We still have cash in the bank from our Series C and D rounds and an overall liquidity runway of $500 million, which will keep us in good stead for future growth,” said Grover in an interaction with Mint on Tuesday.