As it expands aggressively in terms of both geography and product categories, BigBasket has now announced raising of a fresh ₹100 crore (~$15 Bn) round from Trifecta Capital The round is in the form of debt equity, a specialty that comes with Trifecta.
The capital infusion will be fairly recent. Supermarket Grocery Supplies, the company that owns and operates BigBasket, had closed a $150 million from Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, Alibaba and CDC Group at a valuation of over $1 billion.
The funds will be used to set up new warehouses, strengthen cold chain, set up facilities to reprocess fruits and vegetables and scale-up milk subscription business – BB Daily and vending machine business – BB Instant.
“A significant part of our business is fresh fruits and vegetables, the bulk of which is sourced directly from farms. It is crucial that we maintain the quality right up to the last mile. Funding such capex requirements is best done through debt,” said Hari Menon, cofounder, BigBasket.
For fiscal 2018, BigBasket’s revenue went up 35% to Rs 1,605 crore, while losses narrowed by 60% to Rs 272 crore, according to regulatory filings.
