Sachin Tendulkar-backed Universal Sportsbiz raises debt funding of Rs 30 cr from Alteria Capital

Universal Sportsbiz (USPL) has raised venture debt funding of Rs 30 crore led by Alteria Capital. This is the second fund raise led by Alteria Capital in a span of two weeks and is a part of Alteria’s maiden Rs 1,000 crore fund.

Founded by Anjana Reddy, Universal Sportsbiz’s portfolio includes WROGN, a brand co-owned by Virat Kohli, Imara, a women’s wear brand with Jacqueline Fernandez, and Ms Taken, a women’s western wear brand with actor Kriti Sanon. Speaking on the fund-raise Anjana said:

“Taking venture debt from Alteria was a simple decision given the relationship involved and their understanding of startups as well as expertise in debt structuring. High growth companies need access to multivariate sources of capital and it is great for Indian startups to have more access to Venture Debt.”

USPL brands are currently retailed at over 200 points of sale with a geographical spread across 34 cities nationally. Alteria Capital plans to raise a total of $125 million with a greenshoe of $30 million. According to the team, this will make Alteria one of the largest venture debt providers in India.

“Anjana is a fantastic entrepreneur who has consistently delivered on stated objectives and built a great team to take the business to the next level. She has built a very strong business with three contemporary brands including Wrogn, and India is starved of good local brands, especially in the apparel segment,” said Vinod Murali, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Alteria Capital.

The fund also has strong visibility for additional investment beyond the first close from a number of domestic and foreign investors and expects to achieve the final close in the second half of 2018. It is targeting startups across early and growth stages with cheque sizes ranging up to Rs 100 crore. The approach is aimed at giving startups access to debt that is generally not available through traditional commercial debt providers.