Norwest Venture Partners India has acquired a stake of less than 5 percent in OnMobile, which provides data and value-added services to mobile, landline and media service providers. The firm declined to comment on the amount invested, but a source said that NVP India invested about INR 770 million ($15 million; €12 million).
This is NVP India’s first investment in a publicly listed Indian company. The firm hired Sohil Chand from Goldman Sachs’ Asian Special Situations Group in October 2008 to broaden its investment focus and to capitalise on growth equity investments in the country.
“OnMobile is by far the market leader in a very attractive space and the valuations are very compelling. It is also a space we know exceptionally well,” said Sohil Chand, a managing director at NVP India. The company is
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Sohil Chand |
growing rapidly and the industry's prospects are very good, he added.
It is part of NVP India’s strategy to invest in listed companies, Chand said. “When we look at late stage venture, we look at all opportunities – these can be either in the listed or the unlisted space,” he added.
Other investors in OnMobile include global IT services major Infosys Technologies, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Polygon Investment Partners and venture capital firm Argo Global Capital.
NVP India made the investment out of its $650 million global fund. The firm currently manages assets of more than $2.5 billion and has made investments in more than 450 companies since its inception in 1961.
The firm’s previous Indian deal was an INR 200 million investment in Bangalore-headquartered Appnomic Systems, an infrastructure management services company, made in January.
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