Following an ‘extended’ funding winter, the year 2024 has proven to be no less than a rollercoaster ride for Indian startup so far. Notably, the first half (H1) of the year saw a decline in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) due to various macro and micro factors.
However, favourable demographic trends, ongoing regulatory reforms and a rise in entrepreneurial activity across sectors like technology and infrastructure fuelled the momentum of acquisitions in the second half (H2) of the year.
As per an Inc42 report, the first half of the year saw a 45% year-on-year (YoY) decline in M&A deals to 37 from 67 such deals in H1 2023. Sequentially, M&As slipped 34% from 56 M&A deals in H2 2023.
While the first half of the year still faced the ripple effects of the funding winter, the second half hogged the limelight for some notable acquisitions, turning over a new leaf for the Indian startup ecosystem.
From the IPO-bound meat delivery startup Zappfresh acquiring delivery brand Bonsaro to big players like Reliance being in talks to acquire D2C snacking startup TagZ Foods, the second half of 2024 has seen a variety of deals on the acquisition platter.
Not just this, many listed startups also took their shopping carts out, snapping up companies of their interest. For instance, listed Unicommerce acquired a 42.7% stake in ecommerce shipping solutions provider Shipway for INR 68.4 Cr. Similarly, Nykaa acquired additional stakes in D2C beauty and skincare brands Earth Rythm and Dot & Key for INR 309.8 Cr.
With that, we present you the list of acquisitions that rocked the startup ecosystem in 2024.
Editor’s Note: This is not a ranking of any kind, and the startups have been listed alphabetically.
1. Aurionpro Solutions Gets A Majority Stake In Arya.ai
In April, homegrown technology solution company Aurionpro Solutions announced that it was acquiring a 67% stake in banking and insurance focused PaaS startup Arya.ai for INR 137.7 Cr deal.
The all-cash deal involved acquiring shares from existing shareholders and subscribing to new equity capital.
With this acquisition, Aurionpro aimed to enhance its capabilities by integrating Arya.ai’s AI cloud platform with its suite of offerings to create a leading enterprise AI platform tailored for financial institutions globally.
Founded in 2013 by Vinay Kumar Sankarapu and Deekshith Marla, Arya.ai primarily has three components – Arya API , Libra–Fune and AryaXAI.
On the other hand, Aurionpro Solutions is a technology solutions company catering to the needs of the banking, mobility, payments, and government sectors. The company competes with the likes of Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services.
2. BrowserStack Buys Bird Eats Bug
In August, SaaS unicorn BowserStack acquired Berlin-based enterprise tech platform Bird Eats Bug in a $20 Mn (around INR 169 Cr) deal.
The SaaS giant did not disclose the details of the transaction back then, but reports suggest that it was a cash-and-stock deal.
Founded in 2020, Bird Eats Bug offers a SaaS platform that claims to help enterprises debug their codes up to 30% faster on average.
With this acquisition, BrowserStack now leverages Bird Eats Bug’s tech stack to streamline bug reporting processes and eliminate fragmented toolchains in testing.
On the other hand, BrowserStack was founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal. It offers a platform for software testing across various devices and browsers.
The company counts the likes of Tricentis, LambdaTest and Cypress among its investors. It reported a 52% jump in the net profit of its Indian entity to INR 114 Cr in FY23 from INR 75 Cr in FY22.
3. Freshworks Boosts Acquires Device42 For $230 Mn
While Nasdaq-listed SaaS major Freshworks has been in the headlines for major leadership changes in the company, it has also come into limelight for snapping up Delaware Corporation’s Device42 for $230 Mn (approximately INR 1,919.7 Cr) this year.
The agreement makes Device42 a wholly owned subsidiary of Freshworks, all while retaining all employees of the company.
Founded in 2010, Device42 is a US-based company, which offers tech support to companies for IT support, compliance and audit, asset management, etc.
Nasdaq-lested Freshworks offers a suite of software for customer service and support, customer engagement and IT service management.
The company counts the likes of Zoho, HubSpot, Salesforce and Microsoft among its competitors. It posted a consolidated net loss of $23.3 Mn in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
4. Temasek-Backed Fullerton Picks Up Majority Stake In Lendingkart
Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH), a wholly owned portfolio company of Temasek, bought an additional stake in MSME-focussed fintech startup Lendingkart with an infusion of INR 252 Cr. The funding made FFH a majority stakeholder in the fintech company.
Just a day prior to this announcement, reports suggested that LendingKart was raising a down round, bringing down its valuation to $100 Mn from approximately $350 Mn in 2020.
Founded in 2014 by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart provides loans to MSMEs and has two main revenue sources – income from interest and financial services offerings.
With the capital investment by FFH, Lendingkart aimed to deepen its reach in underserved markets and expand its technological stack to foster financial inclusion for small businesses in India.
The fintech company counts Incred, Yubi, Indifi and Kinara Capital among its key competitors. It claimed to be profitable in FY23 with its consolidated net profit of INR 118.8 Cr against a net loss of INR 203.4 Cr in FY22.
5. L&T Buys SiliConch System To Shore Up Its Semiconductor Play
Amid semiconductor boom in the country this year, construction giant L&T acquired semiconductor design startup SiliConch Systems for INR 183 Cr.
At the time of the announcement, L&T said that its semiconductor arm, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), signed a share purchase agreement in which INR 133 Cr was to be paid at the time of closing the transaction.
The remaining INR 50 Cr is to be payable over four years and will be subject to “closing adjustments” and fulfilment of “certain targets and other conditions”.
With this acquisition, L&T aims to bolster its semiconductor play and strengthen its expertise in the fabless chip manufacturing space.
Founded in 2015, SiliConch System claims to have more than 30 patents under its belt. The company posted an operating revenue of INR 19.97 Cr in FY23 against INR 11.02 Cr in the previous year.
LTSCT was incorporated in 2023 and counts the likes of IBM, Tata Electronics and NXP Semiconductors among its competitors.
6. Nazara’s Expansion Spree Continues With Fusebox
Expanding its acquisition spree this year, Nazara Technologies announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Nazara UK acquired London-based gaming studio Fusebox Games for £21.18 Mn (around INR 234.55 Cr)
Reflecting on the acquisition, Nazara said that it saw a “large opportunity” in building IP-based games and benefiting from Fusebox’s core user base in India.
Founded in 2016, Fusebox develops interactive story-based games that can be monetised through in-app purchases. The company operates in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, and others. It posted a revenue of INR 87.5 Cr with an EBITDA of INR 11.7 Cr in FY23.
7. Nazara Buys Paper Boat
In July, gaming giant Nazara picked up an additional 48.42% stake in Paper Boat Apps Pvt Ltd (PBA) for from its promoters Anupam and Anshu Dhanuka.
The transaction, valued at INR 300 Cr and to be paid in cash in tranches, raised Nazara’s ownership in PBA to 100%.
Notably, Paper Boat Apps is the developer and publisher of children’s digital gamified learning app ‘Kiddopia’, a gaming app for kids in the US. With this acquisition, Nazara aimed at intensifying its efforts in the gamified learning sector.
Later, Nazara will also consider merging Paper Boat Apps into the company at the appropriate time to bring home gamified learning IP ‘Kiddopia’. Nazara acquired a 50.91% stake in PBA in 2019.
The company (PBA) was founded in 2012 and posted a consolidated revenue of INR 219.4 Cr and an EBITDA of INR 56.1 Cr in FY24.
8. OneVerse Enters Real Money Gaming With Spartan Poker
With its vision to venture into the real-money gaming space, OneVerse Gaming acquired online game development studio Spartan Poker for an undisclosed amount.
At the time of the deal, OneVerse said that the move was part of its M&A strategy, under which it had set aside close to $120 Mn. The company also said that various menbers of Spartan Poker’s team would continue to hold their respective posts.
Founded in 2014 by Amin Rozani, Sameer Rattonsey and Peter Abraham, Spartan Poker claims to have generated a consolidated revenue of INR 200 Cr in the last two years.
Notably, under its M&A strategy, OneVerse has also acquired online poker platform PokerSaint, Calling Station and fantasy sports platform BatBall11 this year.
All the acquisitions were made in the first half of the year.
9. OYO Fuels Global Expansion Plans With Checkmyguest Buyout
Adding another acquisition to its folio this year, OYO bought Paris-based rental homes company Checkmyguest in an INR 230 Cr cash and stock deal. However, the companies didn’t disclose the size of the cash payout.
The acquisition included Checkmyguest’s housing renovation business HMG and luxury rental apartment management company Studio Prestige. With this move, OYO aimed at cashing in on checkmyguest’s wide presence in Paris.
Founded in 2016 by Julien Madar, Joffrey Ichbia and Kevin Cohen, Checkmygate offers vacation rental properties like homestays as well as luxury apartments. The company was earlier valued at $110 Mn.
10. OYO Solidifies US Footprint With G6 Hospitality
From turning profitable in FY24 to raising INR 1,457 Cr, OYO has seen an exciting year so far. The Ritesh Agarwal-led company has also been in the news for buying G6 Hospitality, which owns Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands.
The company bought G6 Hospitality from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 Mn (around INR 4,382.72 Cr) in an all-cash transaction. With this acquisition, OYO aims to leverage its technology, global distribution network, and marketing expertise to enhance the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands.
Motel 6 was founded in 1962 and Blackstone acquired the company from the French lodging giant Accor SA in 2012 for $1.9 Bn.
It is pertinent to note that OYO, which competes with the likes of Treebo and MakeMyTrip, has been looking to bolster its presence in Europe and the US, as the company earns higher revenue from these markets due to larger ticket size.
11. STG Acquires Eka Software Solutions To Merge With Quor Group
Marking another acquisition from a private equity firm this year, US-based Symphony Technology Group (STG) acquired Bengaluru-based CTRM software company Eka Software Solutions.
Founded by Manav Garg in 2004, Eka provides a commodity management platform, covering trading and position management, physical supply chain, and enterprise risk management, among others. The company counts Nexus Venture Partners, SilverLake and GP Group among its key investors. Garg is also the cofounder of VC fund Together Fund.
As per the deal, STG will merge Eka into its portfolio company, Quor Group, to provide the combined user base an ability to navigate the complexities of the commodity markets. STG acquired Brady Technologies in 2022, which was later rebranded to Quor Group.
12. Veranda Strengthens Portfolio With Tapasya Educational Institutions
Test prep startup Veranda Learning Solutions, which offers services via a host of brands, added another feather to its cap by acquiring Tapasya Educational Institutions Private Limited for at least INR 362 Cr.
Founded in 2009, Tapasya operates 19 inter/PU colleges and 10 degree colleges in Telangana and Karnataka. At the time of the announcement, the company said the acquisition will be done in three tranches.
With this acquisition, Veranda aims to strengthen its ecosystem by providing additional options in the commerce higher education space.
Founded in 2018, Veranda is a publicly listed company that offers test prep for several subjects such as government exams, banking, insurance, railways and more.
This acquisition came after Veranda bought nearly seven businesses in 2022 for a total of INR 400 Cr.
Talking on the financial front, the startup was able to narrow down its loss to INR 1.53 Cr in September quarter of FY23 from INR 21.12 Cr in the same quarter of FY22.
13. Zomato Buys Paytm’s Entertainment Ticketing Biz For 2,048 Cr
While its closest rival Swiggy went IPO this year, Zomato made various attempts stay in the spotlight. One such move was the foodtech major buying Paytm’s movie and event ticketing business for INR 2,048 Cr.
Under this arrangement, Paytm transferred its movie ticketing business to its subsidiary Orbgen Technologies Pvt Ltd (OTPL) and its sports and events ticketing business to another wholly owned subsidiary Wasteland Entertainment Private Ltd (WEPL).
This move aligns with Zomato’s vision to vertically expand its services. This year, the foodtech giant also rolled out the ‘District’ app for its ‘going-out’ business on both Apple’s iOS and android platforms.
Following the acquisition, the company posted a net profit of INR 930 Cr in Q2 FY25, reversing a loss of INR 292 Cr in the same period last year.
Zomato’s consolidated net profit declined 30% to INR 176 Cr in Q2 of FY25 from INR 253 Cr in the preceding June quarter.
14. Times Internet Sells ET Money For $44 Mn
In yet another deal, Times Internet sold its entire 100% stake in the investment wealth platform ET Money to wealth management firm 360 One WAM for INR 366 Cr.
360 One paid INR 85.83 Cr in cash, with the remaining amount settled through the issuance of 35,90,000 fully paid-up equity shares.
With this acquisition, 360 One WAM aimed at reinforcing its position as a premier wealth manager in the country. The deal included two entities of ET Money – Banayantree Services Pvt Ltd, and Moneygoals Solutions Pvt Ltd
360 One WAM is the wealth management arm of financial services provider 360 ONE, which counts BYJU’S, Swiggy, Policybazaar.com, Licious, and Nykaa among its investment portfolio companies.
Talking on the financial front, The PE firm’s total assets under management (AUM) stood at INR 23,404 Cr in Q2 2024.
(Edited by Subhobrota Dev Roy)