Hornbill Capital submits $200 million bid to invest in Dhan at $1.25 billion valuation, ET BFSI

Hornbill Capital, an India-focused hedge fund anchored by Asian personal fairness agency Orchid Asia, has entered the race to spend money on inventory buying and selling platform Dhan, submitting a $200 million bid at a $1.25 billion pre-money valuation, folks briefed on the matter mentioned. This provides one other contender to the continued funding talks in one of the chased offers.

ET reported on February 7 that ChrysCapital was in talks with Dhan for a $100-150 million financing, valuing it nine-to-ten instances extra in contrast with the earlier valuation of the four-year-old startup. Now, with Hornbill Orchid making its bid, that is the largest supply when it comes to complete funding, folks briefed on the matter mentioned.

The hedge fund led a $210 million funding round in edtech firm PhysicsWallah in September and its bid for Dhan underscores the rising curiosity in new-age firms. Curiously, it’s an investor in Angel One – one among Dhan’s rivals. Hornbill picked up a stake in logistics startup Blackbuck by public market shares. It had beforehand invested in gaming agency Nazara Technologies.

Hornbill Capital was based by Manoj Thakur, a former CEO of Avendus Personal Fairness Funding.

Dhan chief government Pravin Jadhav declined to remark, whereas an electronic mail despatched to Hornbill Capital didn’t elicit any response until press time Sunday.

Dhan, which competes with IPO-bound Groww and Zerodha, is anticipated to finalise the contours of the funding spherical within the subsequent 30-40 days, in spite of everything bids are in place.

This additionally comes at a time when a number of different fintech offers are underway and the entire measurement of the offers additionally being elevated, folks conscious of the matter mentioned.

“Sure, they’ve given a bid for a $200 million spherical at a $1.5 billion post-money supply. This can be a properly contested spherical with a number of bids for a worthwhile startup regardless of current regulatory modifications,” one of many sources conscious of the matter mentioned. One other individual mentioned the supply was at a pre-investment valuation of $1.25 billion.

Dhan, as soon as the spherical formally closes, might change into India’s first unicorn of 2025, with its valuation surging from $125 million. The Mumbai-based agency, based by former Paytm Cash CEO Jadhav in 2021, is among the many high 5 platforms for brand new dealer additions per 30 days and has been worthwhile, reporting a maiden profit of Rs 155 crore in FY24 on income of Rs 380 crore. Jay Prakash Gupta and Alok Pandey are the opposite cofounders on the agency backed by Mirae Asset VC and 3one4 Capital, alongside a number of main web entrepreneurs and CEOs.

ET had reported that 85% of Dhan’s customers have been ‘energy customers’—merchants actively utilizing its instruments. This has helped the corporate keep development even amid regulatory modifications affecting the broader buying and selling enterprise, significantly in F&O.

Market chief Groww is eyeing a potential $6-8 billion valuation in its upcoming IPO, greater than double its final valuation.