BYJU'S rights issue not just about money; Healthy snacking with Farmley
We piece together the events leading to the lawsuits involving BYJU'S and the potential ramifications of the rights issue. D2C startup Farmley focuses on providing unadulterated dry fruits and nuts.
Hello,
The taxman has come knocking on the door.
Co-founder Ashneer Grover has received a notice from the Income Tax Department in connection with his personal tax filing. Grover has alleged vendetta.
The RBI received 3,513 complaints against Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) across all its branches in FY23. Its annual report stated that this was the highest number of complaints per branch received for a payments bank through the offices of the RBI Ombudsman.
Also, the NPCI is likely to grant a third-party application provider licence to Paytm by March 15, according to reports. This will enable Paytm to continue facilitating UPI transactions despite the impending halt in PPBL’s operations.
Elsewhere, Peak XV Partners has announced a new permanent capital vehicle, Peak XV Anchor Fund, with an aim to become the largest backer of its new venture capital funds. The vehicle will pool in capital from partners and leaders of the firm.
Meanwhile, the stock market may soon have a billion-dollar public debut.
Vishal Mega Mart is reportedly planning a $1-billion IPO that would value the budget supermarket chain at $5 billion. Switzerland’s Partners Group and Kedaara Capital are expected to sell shares in the offering, as per Reuters.
And lastly, two 19-year-old MIT students have developed gloves that translate sign language into sound. Impressive invention!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- BYJU'S rights issue: A deep dive
- Healthy snacking with Farmley
- Women in tech for an equitable future
Here’s your trivia for today: Which popular vegetable had a purple colour until the Middle Ages?
Edtech
BYJU'S rights issue: A deep dive
Since last July, encountered a series of challenges: the Davidson Kempner issue, resolved by Ranjan Pai’s intervention; escalation of the $1.2-billion term loan B dispute, leading to insolvency proceedings; bankruptcy filing by BYJU’S' American unit Alpha; government-initiated inspection of BYJU’S' accounts, and more. And this is not even the complete list.
Ahead of a hearing at the Karnataka High Court, we piece together the events leading to the lawsuits involving BYJU'S and the potential ramifications of the rights issue.
All the details:
- In January, BYJU’S floated a rights issue to raise $200 million through equity rights at an enterprise valuation of about $220 million, marking a 99% reduction from its peak valuation of $22 billion.
- Unlike many other investors, Prosus has not sold a single share of BYJU’S since it first invested in the company, according to data collated by market intelligence platform PrivateCircle.
- Karnataka High Court’s interim relief—ahead of the EGM—stated that decisions made by BYJU’S shareholders during the EGM on February 23 will be on hold until the next hearing scheduled for March 13.
Image design: Nihar Apte
Funding Alert
Startup:
Amount: $29M
Round: Series B
Startup:
Amount: Rs 4.75 Cr
Round: Seed
Startup
Healthy snacking with Farmley
Post-pandemic, more consumers are paying attention to healthy eating. However, healthy snacks are often more expensive, which causes consumers to buy other ready-to-eat snacks loaded with high levels of calories, sodium, sugar, and saturated fat.
Delhi-based D2C startup focuses on providing unadulterated dry fruits and nuts sourced by establishing deep back-end linkages with farmers.
Go nuts:
- According to Akash Sharma, Co-founder and CEO of Farmley, two meals are a thing of the past and consumers now eat around 7-8 meals a day.
- Farmley's initial focus was on B2B wholesale, supplying to traditional wholesalers based in mandis and private retailers. Three years later, it pivoted to a D2C model to reach the end customers directly.
- Its revenue reached approximately Rs 150 crore in FY23, with an ARR of Rs 300 crore and it is fast expanding its offline presence across modern trade and general trade.
SheSparks
Women in tech for an equitable future
During the Women in Tech panel at SheSparks 2024, Teja Manakame of Dell Technologies, Goda Ramkumar of , and Priyanka Swain of Tally Solutions threw light on the underrepresentation of women in the tech industry and how mentorship and sponsorship can play a huge role in sustaining women in the tech workforce.
Women power:
- Manakame has had a diverse career that began in the Indian Air Force. After the end of the commission, she joined the IT industry which was on the cusp of a boom.
- Manakame said growing up, she always heard engineering was for men, and this bias seems to be carried forward as one grows up. This is a bias women need to change and emphasise that technology is for everyone, she reiterated.
- Ramkumar believes women grow up with social conditioning and their own expectations of themselves as mothers, leads to a lot of guilt–something she went through as well.
News & updates
- Direct download: Apple is planning to make further changes in EU countries to allow some developers to distribute their iOS apps directly from a website, provided they’re willing to adhere to Apple’s strict rules. The new web distribution feature will be available with a software update “later this spring,” according to Apple.
- Simplifying policy: will ban the use of indoor security cameras in any property listed on its site, and bring in new restrictions on outdoor cameras and noise monitoring devices. Cameras were previously allowed in areas such as hallways and living areas as long as they were disclosed.
- Missing bolts: The US federal audit of plane manufacturer Boeing found over thirty failures in the company's operations. Boeing failed 33 aspects of the audit with a total of 97 points of noncompliance, according to The New York Times. The company passed 56 points of the audit.
Which popular vegetable had a purple colour until the Middle Ages?
Answer: Carrots.
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