Sequoia Capital to sell stakes in firms worth $200 million
According to sources, American venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, is planning to sell $200 million worth of stakes in eight Indian "non-tech companies" via secondary transactions. One of the most active venture capital firms in India, Sequoia Capital's India portfolio consists of 130 firms. Officials from the company declined to comment on what they called "market speculation."
A bit about Sequoia Capital
Founded in Nov'72 by Don Valentine, Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm focusing on internet, energy, finance, health-care, enterprises and mobile start-ups. According to their website, Sequoia "partnered with founders of companies that now have an aggregate, public market value of over $1.4 trillion."
What is a secondary transaction?
A secondary transaction is one in which an existing investor in a firm or a fund, sells its stake in the company or interest in the fund to a third-party buyer.
Sequoia Capital's India portfolio
According to data from Venture Intelligence, Sequoia Capital invested around $2 billion in Indian companies in the last decade. According to the same data, the bulk of Sequoia Capital's investments have been in the IT and ITES sector, with investments totalling $963 million. It also invested $277 million each in the Healthcare & Life Sciences industry, and the Banking, Financial and Insurance industry.
Some Sequoia-financed start-ups that made it big
Start-ups like TrueCaller, Grofers and Oyo Rooms, which have become household names today, were financed by Sequoia Capital. In 2014, Sequoia invested $60 million in TrueCaller. In 2015, Oyo Rooms got a $100 million funding from Sequoia, while Grofers received $120 million.
Sequoia Capital's recent investments in Indian start-ups
Although Sequoia Capital is selling $200 million worth of stakes for unknown reasons, it continues to invest in India. Sequoia Capital led a $75 million investment round in education-tech firm Byju's in March, and participated in a $50 million fund-raising for the company last week. It is also investing in other Indian start-ups like Mitra Biotech Inc., Healthkart, SirionLabs, ClearTax, CueMath, Voonik Technologies etc.
