India Roundup: Fintech unicorn BharatPe raises $13m in debt, and more (Updated)

Update (Oct 25, 8.10 pm): Added news about Oyo, O4S, Stellapps, BharatPe, Basic Home Loan, and GlobalBees

Fintech unicorn BharatPe raises US$13 million in debt 

• Lead investor: MAS Financial
• Stage: Debt
• Funds used for: Scaling up lending vertical
• About the startup: Founded in 2018, BharatPe facilitates payments made using the unified payments interface (UPI) through apps such as Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, MobiKwik, Freecharge, TrueCaller, among others.

After Zostel, Indian hospitality body aims to put Oyo’s IPO plans on hold

• The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) has reportedly asked India’s market regulator to halt Oyo’s proposed stock market debut, claiming that the hotel chain made inadequate disclosures in its draft prospectus.
• The firm’s parent, Oravel, has been involved in unfair, anti-competitive, and fraudulent dealings and business practices, FHRAI said in a statement.
• Earlier, hospitality startup Zostel reportedly appealed to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to put Oyo’s US$1.2 billion public listing on hold. (Read: 6 key findings from Oyo’s $1.2b IPO filings)

Groww raises US$251 million, valuation triples

• Online investment platform Groww raised US$251 million as part of its series E funding round led by Iconiq Growth. Existing investors such as Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity, Tiger Global, and Propel Venture Partners also took part.
• New investors such as Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital, and Steadfast also poured funds into Groww, pushing its valuation to US$3 billion.
• In April, the Bengaluru-based firm raised US$83 million to mark its entry into the unicorn club.

Walmart-backed PhonePe to file fresh suit against BharatPe 

• PhonePe, India’s biggest UPI-based financial app, said it will file a fresh lawsuit against PostPe – a buy now, pay later offering from fintech platform BharatPe – for trademark violation.
• PhonePe claims trademark rights over the suffix -Pe.
• The Walmart-backed platform said it is withdrawing a previous petition where it sought an injunction to restrain Resilient Innovations, the company behind BharatPe, from allegedly misusing PhonePe’s registered trademarks.
• “We will continue to take all legal remedies in law, not only to defend ourselves against any ill-conceived actions taken by PhonePe, but also to protect our rights in law, BharatPe said in a statement to Tech in Asia.

GlobalBees enters personal care space with Prolixr acquisition

• Roll-up ecommerce startup GlobalBees has acquired Prolixr, an India-based skincare brand
• The latter’s founders and 25-member team come under the GlobalBees umbrella as part of the deal.
• GlobalBees is reportedly in talks to raise funds at valuation of US$1 billion or more. (Read: Roll-up ecommerce flexes its muscles in India)

Dairy tech startup Stellapps hits first close of US$18 million round

• Dairy tech startup Stellapps has hit the first close of its pre-series C round, which was led by Nutreco, an animal nutrition and aquaculture company.
• Existing investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Celesta Capital, and ABB Technology Ventures also took part in the financing round.
• Founded in 2011, Stellapps offers farmers financial services, quality nutrition, and veterinary care. The company’s fintech arm facilitates the financial inclusion of smallholder farmers by providing access to digital payments, banking, savings, cash withdrawals, credit, and insurance.

Supply chain SaaS startup O4S raises US$6 million in series A money

• Lead investor: Think Investments
• Other investors: Venture Highway
• Stage: Series A
• Funds used for: Ramping up operations across North America and Southeast Asia, and increasing hiring in the company
• About the startup: Founded in 2017, O4S helps manufacturing companies such as Coca-Cola, Honeywell, and Mondelez automate their supply chains across manufacturing, warehousing, and retail networks to shore up sales.