Latest news with #Infra.Market
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IPO-bound Infra.Market gets additional $50 million as debt
Bengaluru: secured $150 million as debt from Mars Growth Capital, a joint venture between MUFG Bank and AI-based private credit firm Liquidity. The deal includes a five-year extension of its existing $100 million facility and an additional $50 million credit line. This is the company's second fundraising this year, following a $125 million equity round. Founded in 2016, operates a tech-enabled building materials platform that caters to institutional and retail buyers. The company offers more than 15 product categories ranging from concrete and steel to appliances and modular kitchens. It also holds strategic stakes in RDC Concrete, Shalimar Paints, Emcer, Millennium Tiles, and Amstrad, and operates across over 10,000 retail outlets in India. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru According to the company, is now the second-largest player in India by revenue in the ready-mix concrete segment and ranks second by capacity in both AAC blocks and flooring tiles. Its network spans over 250 manufacturing units across the country. said the fresh financing will support ongoing expansion across infrastructure, industrial, and building construction segments in the $255 billion Indian building materials market. The company is also exploring international opportunities. "We're scaling to become India's largest construction materials platform, with an integrated offering across the value chain," said Co-founder Souvik Sengupta. "This capital will help us grow both in India and globally."
Economic Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Jumbotail's unicorn round; Infy on employees' mental health
B2B firm Jumbotail has become a unicorn with its latest $120 million funding round. This and more in today's ETtech Top in the letter:■ Meta's poaching spree■ Ola Electric lags legacy players■ India's creator-founder boom Jumbotail hits $1 billion valuation in new funding Jumbotail cofounders S Karthik Venkateswaran (L) and Ashish Jhina Bengaluru-based business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce marketplace Jumbotail has become India's fifth unicorn of the year after raising $120 million in a funding round led by SC Ventures, the investment arm of Standard Chartered. Deal details: Before this round, the firm was valued at around $900–950 million. Jumbotail joins Netradyne, Porter, Drools and BlueStone in the 2025 unicorn club. The company has also completed its acquisition of Solv India, a B2B commerce and financial services platform incubated by SC Ventures. Why this matters: Jumbotail's valuation milestone stands out at a time when the B2B ecommerce sector has faced subdued investor interest and cooling valuations. Also Read: Udaan closes latest funding round at $114 million led by UK's M&G, Lightspeed IPO-bound Infra Market raises $50 million in debt from Mars Growth Capital cofounders Aaditya Sharda (L) and Souvik Sengupta Construction materials platform has raised an additional $50 million in debt financing from Mars Growth Capital, bringing its total borrowing from the firm to $150 million. The funds will support its expansion plans as it gears up for an IPO. Tell me more: This is the company's second fundraise in 2025. In January, it secured $125 million to drive growth in both Indian and overseas markets. The new deal also includes a five-year extension of the terms of its earlier $100 million loan. IPO watch: The Mumbai-based firm plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) this fiscal and raise Rs 2,500 crore through an IPO, likely in Q3 or Q4 of FY26. To this end, it has roped in bankers and legal advisors. Credit rating agency India Ratings downgraded long-term debt instruments from A-/Negative Outlook to BBB+/Negative Outlook, citing concerns around debt refinancing, liquidity pressures, and negative cash flow from operations in FY25. Also Read: raises $121 million in pre-IPO funding; B2B startup now valued at $2.8 billion 'Mind your health, please': Infosys cautions employees against long remote hours Infosys has started sending personalised emails to employees clocking unusually long hours from home, urging them to prioritise a healthier work-life balance. Why it matters: Young tech professionals are increasingly vulnerable to health issues, including stress-induced heart problems linked to long and erratic workdays. Cardiologists warn that unmanaged stress is a silent killer. Details: Employees receive monthly summaries if they average more than 9.15 hours of work per day. The emails encourage taking regular breaks, delegating tasks wherever possible, and disconnecting outside working hours. The push is part of Infosys' hybrid policy, which requires employees to be in the office for at least 10 days a month. The big picture: Workplace stress has become a national talking point, with concerns even raised in Parliament. As India's workforce adapts to hybrid work, companies are under pressure to take a more active role in supporting employee well-being. Also Read: Genpact issues clarification on 10-hour workday after backlash Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees. The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship opportunities. AI talent war intensifies as OpenAI executives slams Meta for aggressive hiring Meta's Mark Zuckerberg seems like a man possessed. His aggressive push to snap up top AI talent is starting to ruffle feathers at rival firms, such as OpenAI. Driving the news: After Meta poached at least eight researchers, OpenAI's chief research officer, Mark Chen, voiced his frustration in an internal memo, according to Wired . 'I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something. Please trust that we haven't been sitting idly by,' Chen wrote on Slack. Doubling down: Over the weekend, The Information reported that Meta added four more senior researchers from OpenAI to its 'superintelligence' team: Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren. Interestingly, all four studied in China. They join Alexander Kolesnikov, Xiaohua Zhai, and Trapit Bansal, who moved from OpenAI's Zurich lab to Meta last week. Meta-morphosis: In its urgency to catch up with OpenAI and Google in the race for artificial general intelligence, the deep-pocketed Meta has been going for broke. It invested $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, bringing its founder, Alexandr Wang, on board. Wang's arrival followed a lukewarm reception to Llama 4, Meta's latest large language model, which was launched after multiple delays. Meta has also explored acquiring AI startups and labs, like Safe Superintelligence, Perplexity, Thinking Machines Lab, and Runway AI. Also Read: Meta's $14.8 billion Scale AI deal latest test of AI partnerships Ola Electric stays third as TVS, Bajaj lead EV two-wheeler race in June Bhavish Aggarwal's Ola Electric, once a front-runner in India's EV two-wheeler market, remained in third place in June, trailing TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto. Upping the game: The Bengaluru-based firm clocked 18,527 units in June, almost unchanged from May's 18,541 units. Its market share edged up to 19.6%, but remained below the 20% mark for the second consecutive month. TVS Motor held the top spot with 25.4%, followed by Bajaj Auto at 22.8%. Rival watch: Ather Energy, Ola's recently listed competitor, gained momentum, with 13,617 units sold in June. Its market share rose from 13.4% to 14.4%. The company is also betting big on retail, with plans to nearly double its footprint to 700 experience centres by the end of FY26. Compounding woes: Ola has faced mounting scrutiny over the past few months, with questions around inflated sales data, product quality issues, and missing valid trade certificates at several dealerships. Also Read: Ola Electric Q4 net loss doubles to Rs 870 crore as revenue slumps 62% From reels to retail: India's influencers turn startup founders India's biggest content creators aren't just chasing likes anymore; they're pursuing market share. A rising tribe of influencers is jumping from the 'gram to the boardroom, building their own beauty and fashion brands from scratch. Driving the news: Influencer marketing in India set to hit Rs 3,375 crore by 2026. But the real story is these creators flipping trust into full-blown D2C businesses, taking on celeb-endorsed brands with products that feel personal. Kusha Kapila launched the shapewear brand Underneat. Nitibha Kaul founded the skincare line AltK Beauty. Neetu Bisht is running Netose Clothing. Sunny Chopra unveiled the Ksunch fashion label. The strategy: Target micro-communities of 1-10 million fans, and convert that connection into serious consumer spend. The playbook: This mirrors a global trend with names like MrBeast (Feastables), Kylie Jenner (Kylie Cosmetics), and Emma Chamberlain (Chamberlain Coffee) leading the way. However, with 800 million internet users and a young, regional fanbase, the Indian market is ripe for a creator-led boom. The bottom line: With trust and relatability in tow, this new wave of brands is betting that authenticity, agility and storytelling will trump big-budget marketing. For now, that bet is paying off. Updated On Jun 30, 2025, 07:44 PM IST
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Infra.Market secures $50 million additional funding from Mars Growth Capital
NEW DELHI: MARS Growth Capital , a joint venture between Liquidity Group and MUFG Bank , has extended terms of the existing financing of $100 million in by another five years and also enhanced the financing amount by an additional $50 million. Northcote Luxe FinBrokers were the advisors to for this transaction. This is company's second fund raising for the year. It had raised approximately $125 million in series D financing round earlier this year. Founded in 2016, is a building materials platform.
Economic Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
IPO-bound Infra Market raises additional $50 million financing from Mars Growth Capital
Construction materials marketplace has raised an additional $50 million in debt financing from Mars Growth Capital, as it looks to fund expansion plans before a public listing. The infusion takes the total amount raised from the lender to $150 million. The latest financing from Mars Growth Capital, a joint venture between MUFG Bank and private credit firm Liquidity Group, also includes a five-year extension of the terms on its existing $100 million borrowing. The company said it will use the fresh capital to support its expansion plans and strengthen its presence across product categories and geographies. It currently offers over 15 product categories, including concrete, walling solutions, and steel, and operates a network of 250 manufacturing units. It has 10,000 retail touchpoints. This is second fundraise this year. In January, the company raised $125 million in a funding round to fuel expansion across India and global markets. Founded in 2016 by Souvik Sengupta and Aditya Sharda, Accel-backed supplies construction and home improvement materials, including concrete, steel, pipes, plywood, fans, lights, and kitchen and electrical appliances to real estate developers, contractors and architects. 'We continue to build on our vision of creating India's largest building materials platform, offering end-to-end solutions across the construction value chain, not only in India, but also globally,' Sengupta said in a statement. 'We are seeing growth opportunities as we rapidly expand our market presence, and create a best-in-class construction materials company out of India.' The funding comes at a time when the Mumbai-based company is preparing to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the aim of raising Rs 2,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) this fiscal year. The company has already appointed merchant bankers and legal advisors and aims to go public in the third or fourth quarter of FY26, subject to regulatory approvals. In May, rating agency India Ratings downgraded rating to 'BBB+/negative outlook' from 'A-/negative outlook' over concerns around its debt refinancing, liquidity position and negative cash flow from operations in FY25. In FY25, Hella Infra Market, the parent company of reported a 45% jump in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to Rs 1,596 crore, with margins improving to 8.7% from 7.5% a year ago. Profit after tax rose to Rs 492 crore from Rs 378 claims to be the second-largest player by revenue in ready-mix concrete and among the top three in AAC blocks and tiles by capacity in India. It has also made strategic investments in brands such as RDC Concrete, Shalimar Paints, Emcer, Millennium Tiles, and company is among a growing list of industrial commerce platforms preparing for a public market debut. Others include Zetwerk, Ofbusiness, and JSW Luxe FinBrokers advised on the latest transaction.'This $150 million potential commitment reflects our conviction in vision and execution, as well as the transformative impact it is having across the construction value chain,' said Ron Daniel, cofounder and CEO of Liquidity Group. 'By combining Liquidity's technology-driven approach and underwriting capabilities with scale and ambition, we are enabling sustainable growth and supporting emergence as a global infrastructure leader.'
Mint
30-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Infra.Market secures additional $50 mn from MARS Growth Capital; to file draft IPO papers by September
Mumbai: MARS Growth Capital has infused an additional $50 million in and extended the term of its existing financing of $100 million by five years as the building materials platform prepares for an initial public offering later this year. MARS, a joint venture between private credit firm Liquidity and MUFG Bank, has invested about $150 million in the IPO-bound company with this transaction, said in a statement on Monday. The first tranche of $100 million, which had a three-year tenure starting in 2022, was predominantly used towards making paints and tiles. The additional proceeds will be used to manufacture concrete and autoclaved aerated concrete blocks. Northcote Luxe FinBrokers was the exclusive advisor to for the transaction. This is the company's second fundraising effort this year after it secured about $125 million at a $2.7 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global, Evolvence, and Foundamental in January. Investors Ashish Kacholia, Nikhil Kamath, and Abhijit Pai also participated in the round. Mint reported in April that venture debt backers – Innoven Capital, Strides Ventures and Trifecta Capital – are exploring a $30 million secondary transaction in an extended pre-IPO round as they look to encash some of their stake. The company is expected to file draft IPO papers by September and has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, IIFL Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, ICICI Securities, HSBC Securities,Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and Nuvama Wealth Management, to manage its IPO. Founded by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda in 2016, the company offers solutions across the construction value chain. It has a network of over 250 manufacturing units with strategic investments in companies including RDC Concrete, Shalimar Paints, Emcer, Millennium Tiles, and Amstrad. It sells a range of products including concrete, walling solutions, steel, aggregates, pipes & fittings, plywood, laminates, tiles, paints, modular kitchens, designer hardware, electricals, appliances and consumer durables. With over 10,000 retail outlets across India, caters to institutional customers as well as retail outlets in the building materials sector and aims to disrupt the $255 billion building materials market with a focus on the infrastructure, industrial and construction sector. The company highlighted plans in February to move beyond concrete and steel and focus on lifestyle categories such as mattresses, curtains, and home décor. Its lifestyle brand, Ivas, offers materials that go "outside the wall" in home construction like bath fittings, ceramics, tiles, paints, home appliances and consumer durables. growth has accelerated as geopolitical shifts and inflationary pressures prompt companies to relocate manufacturing to India. This momentum has been bolstered by the Indian government's infrastructure push and initiatives like the production-linked incentive scheme and the 'China-plus one" strategy. The company reported revenue of ₹ 14,530 crore in FY24, up from ₹ 11,846.5 crore the previous year, while its profit after tax surged to ₹ 378 crore from ₹ 155 crore in FY23. Much of this growth came from private labels in categories like concrete, walling products, paint, electricals and tiles.
