India Roundup: Gaming unicorn Dream11 turns a profit, and other news

Gaming unicorn Dream11 swings to US$24.6 million profit

• Dream11’s parent firm, Sporta Technologies, recorded a profit of 1.81 billion rupees (US$24.6 million) for financial year 2020 (FY20), a turnaround from a loss of US$11.9 million a year ago.
• The company’s revenue from operations also increased by 2.67x to 20.7 billion rupees (US$281.2 million) in FY20 from 7.8 billion rupees (US$105.4 million) in the previous year.
• Dream11’s strong results come ahead of a potential initial public offering, which may bump up the valuation of the company to US$6 billion. It is in exploratory talks with investment banks for a US listing by early next year.

Tiger Global-backed Wow Momo bags US$15 million in series C money 

• The quick-service restaurant chain has raised US$15 million in its series C funding round led by Tree Line Investment Management. This pushes Wow Mom’s value to US$165 million.
• Investors IAN Fund and Lighthouse Funds also joined the funding round.
• The company will use the fresh funds to develop its newly launched fast-moving consumer goods business, fuel the expansion of its quick-service restaurant and cloud kitchen brands, and roll out new verticals.

India’s proposed ecommerce rules hits internal snag

• The government has reportedly described certain proposals as “excessive” and “without economic rationale.”
• However, it is unclear how the objections from the government will impact the proposed rule changes, which was first suggested in June. The proposed amendments to the ecommerce rules may have an enormous impact on businesses like Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart, among others.
• In an August 31 memo, the Indian government highlighted that the proposed rules may also have a negative effect on a sector that could boost job creation and tax revenue.

M2P acquires credit card sourcing startup Wizi in cash-and-stock deal

• Fintech startup M2P, which provides digital banking solutions to fintech firms and banks, has acquired credit card sourcing startup Wizi, The Economic Times reported.
• The deal was reportedly a mix of cash and stock, lifting the valuation of Wizi to about US$5 million.
• The acquisition will help M2P strengthen its Yap product, which is a programmable credit card platform that enables fintech firms and banks to offer credit cards to its customers through application programming interfaces.

Thrasio-style 10Club makes first acquisition with babycare brand

• The ecommerce roll-up firm has snapped up My Newborn, which sells baby products on Amazon.
• Founded in 2020, 10Club is a ecommerce startup that acquires, operates, and helps digitally native businesses scale up.
• Under the deal, both companies will focus on improving My Newborn’s margins and ensuring that its products are more affordable and easily available to Indian consumers.

Currency converted from Indian rupees to US dollar: US$1 = 73.62 rupees.