Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of fintech startup BharatPe Ashneer Grover is looking forward to coming back to the world of business after a long sabbatical. The former BharatPe CEO is in talks with US-based family offices and offshore private equity (PE) players to raise $200 million.
Former BharatPe chief executive and co-founder Ashneer Grover is in talks with US-based family offices and offshore private equity players to raise $200-300 million for starting a new business, people associated with reports.
“He may use some of his personal wealth to start with. Eventually, he may either sell a part of his stake in BharatPe or raise fresh capital by issuing a stake in the new company. He has met at least six investors regarding his new venture. Discussions are preliminary right now,” said people aware with the matter said.
Grover owns 8.5% of BharatPe, which is valued at around $3 billion. “There are buyers for his BharatPe stake. The transaction price is something one has to negotiate,” said this person.
Ashneer Grover, became a household name after he appeared on the panel of investors in Shark Tank India. Grover is in the US right now. While it is not known in which sector Grover will test his entrepreneurial skills next, on Tuesday, while celebrating his 40th birthday, Grover announced on Twitter that he is ready to re-enter the world of business with plans to build another “unicorn”.
Grover hinted the new startup would “disrupt another sector”. Following his controversial exit from BharatPe over allegations of financial irregularities, Grover has mostly been out of India and keeping a low profile. “Today, I turn 40. Some will say I’ve lived a full life and experienced more things than most. Created value for generations. For me, it’s still unfinished business,“ said Grover’s tweet.
Grover was sent on a leave of absence in January this year after an audio clip surfaced online where he was heard being aggressive with a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee for not getting an allotment in Nykaa’s initial public offering (IPO) went viral. Later, Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain were accused of financial irregularities, which eventually led to their removal from the company in March.
It had previously reported that out of the 8.5% owned by Grover, 3.5-4% of the is on account of the stake held on behalf of Bharatpe co-founder Bhavik Koladiya. If this is added to the 1.4% set to be clawed back by BharatPe, Grover might be left owning 3.5-4% of the company ultimately. As the face of BharatPe, Grover helped turn the fintech into a unicorn in August last year. A startup is termed a unicorn when its valuation crosses $1 billion.
