India Roundup: Alibaba-backed Paytm acquires CreditMate ahead of IPO, and other news (Updated)

Update (Oct 4, 5:30 p.m.): Added news about Paytm, GlobalBees, and GramCover

Alibaba-backed Paytm acquires CreditMate ahead of IPO

• The financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Meanwhile, Aditya Singh, co-founder of CreditMate, is looking to build a new startup following his exit from the lending firm.
• Founded in 2016, CreditMate helps lenders collect overdue payments from borrowers. It works with over 30 lenders including Paytm, True Balance, MoneyTap, Zest, Capital Float, Cars24, among others.
• Meanwhile, Paytm is headed for an initial public offering estimated to be worth US$2.2 billion, and it could be India’s largest listing to date. (Read: Paytm IPO: 8 key points about India’s largest stock market debut)

Ecommerce roll-up firm GlobalBees acquires health startup for women

• GlobalBees has acquired AndMe – a company which sells products for women across menstrual health, hormonal health, beauty, and fitness categories – for an undisclosed amount.
• Launched in 2017, AndMe’s provides women with plant-based, preservative-free, and chemical-free products, which have no added sugar, and help with women’s health issues such as UTI, PCOS, Menopause, and Thyroid.
• Last month, GlobalBees acquired The Better Home, a homecare products company. It is also in talks to acquire 15 more brands, CEO Agarwal recently told Tech in Asia.

Ex-Tiger Global partner’s firm buys stake in Delhivery from Fosun

• China-based conglomerate Fosun International has reportedly diluted its stake in Delhivery to 2.5% from an earlier 3.8%. The stake sale to Addition, the venture capital firm of former Tiger Global partner Lee Fixel, was part of Delhivery’s US$125 million raise last month.
• However, Fosun is looking to sell its entire stake before Delhivery launches its initial public offering later this year at a valuation of US$6 billion to US$7 billion.
• Established in 2011, Delhivery provides a full suite of logistics services such as express parcel transportation, reverse logistics, and end-to-end supply chain services.

Insurtech firm GramCover scores US$7 million in series A money

• Siana Capital, Inflexor Ventures, and Stride Ventures took part in the financing round, along with existing investors Omidyar Network India, Flourish Ventures and Emphasis Ventures.
• The company will use the fresh funds to develop its tech and product offerings; improve the availability of insurance products on its partner applications; expand its point of sales network, and build its sales and operation teams.
• Founded in 2016, GramCover is an insurtech marketplace focused on rural areas, facilitating policy purchases across products like crop, motor, livestock, and health insurance. It aims to innsure over 10 million farmers in the next two to three years with a premium target of 1000 crore rupees (US$134.5 million).

Workforce management platform Smartstaff banks US$4.5 million in fresh funds

• Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Arkam Ventures, Gemba Capital, and several angel investors participated in the financing round.
• The latest investment will be used for developing Smartstaff’s product and expanding its team. The company expects to have over 10,000 workers on its platform by the end of the year.
• Founded in October 2020, Smartstaff helps businesses manage their blue-collar workers by digitizing workforce management practices. The company aims to improve workers’ visibility into payouts, statutory contributions, and timesheets through its platform.