B2B e-commerce platform Udaan has raised about USD 200 million (about Rs 1,486 crore) through convertible notes, its CFO Aditya Pande said in an internal mail to employees. A convertible note is an instrument typically used by companies at pre-IPO stage, and the instrument converts into equity at the IPO.
Pande in an internal note said Udaan has raised USD 200 million via convertible notes. “We are excited and glad to share that we have five new marquee investors coming onboard the Udaan juggernaut, as part of our recently concluded convertible note financing,” according to the note penned by Pande. This round was oversubscribed two times and also saw participation from existing investors, including those who bought into the company through the secondary (ESOP) round in H1 2021.
With this financing, the total funds raised by Udaan via debt and convertible note through just the last quarter of 2021 has crossed USD 250 million, “setting us up well to continue executing our strategic agenda”, he wrote. The move reflects `broadening the capitalization strategy’ as Udaan scripts its journey for public markets and thereafter. “With this convertible offering, we, as a company, have started building a complete new muscle in our finance function – which we will continue to strengthen as we go forward,” Pande added.
In September last year, the B2B e-commerce platform had said it is looking at becoming a publicly listed entity in the next 18-24 months. Towards this, it had moved to a CEO-led structure with co-founder Vaibhav Gupta assuming the role of chief executive. The other two co-founders, Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar, as board members will actively work with Gupta to “ensure that the organisation effectively transitions to a CEO-led structure for continued success,” the company had said in a statement.
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