CCI okays GIC's proposal to acquire minority stake in Groww

The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday cleared Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC's proposed acquisition of a 2.14 % stake in IPO-bound Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of investment tech unicorn Groww.

GIC, through its affiliate, Viggo Investment Pte (GIC Investor), is acquiring a stake in Groww.

"The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 2.143 % shareholding in Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd (Groww) by Viggo Investment Pte Ltd (GIC Investor) pursuant to the execution of, inter alia, a Deed of Adherence and Share Subscription Agreement dated 28th April 2025," CCI said in a release.

Groww, which operates an online trading platform, offers stock trading, mutual fund investments and other financial instruments. The company also has an asset management business.

"CCI approves acquisition of shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures Limited by Viggo Investment Pte Ltd," the fair trade regulator said in a post on X.

Viggo Investment is a special purpose vehicle and is wholly owned by Enterprise Holding, which in turn, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GIC (Ventures) Pvt Ltd.

Last month, Billionbrains Garage Ventures filed IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial share sale through a confidential pre-filing route, with an aim to raise between $700 million and $1 billion, said industry sources familiar with the development.

According to reports, Groww was in discussions in March this year to raise nearly $250 million in a pre-IPO funding round, which was led by GIC, while other existing investors also participated.

Following the funding, Groww's valuation stood at nearly $6.8 billion, more than double the $3.1 billion it had recorded in its last funding round in 2021.

Bengaluru-based Groww was founded in 2016 by former Flipkart executives Harsh Jain, Lalit Keshre, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal.

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IPO-bound Groww reports 3X jump in FY25 profit, raises $200M at $7B valuation

For FY24, Groww reported a net loss of Rs 805 crore primarily due to a one-time tax payment of Rs 1,340 crore for shifting its domicile to India from the US.

However, the Tiger Global-backed company maintained its operational profitability at Rs 535 crore for FY24 compared to Rs 458 crore for FY23, marking an increase of 17 %.

Its revenues surged to Rs 3,145 crore for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2024, higher by 119 % than Rs 1,435 crore in the preceding fiscal year.