Brand Capital commits $19m to India's Quikr

The transaction was made via the transfer of convertible debentures, Livemint reported, citing documents filed with the Registrar of Companies. Brand, which has been active in media-for-equity investing since 2005, is also expected to provide the company with advertising through its properties including ET Now, Times Now, The Times of India and The Economic Times.

The deal follows Quikr's acquisition of Hiree, a hiring platform focused on white collar jobs and backed by IDG Ventures. Earlier this year, the company also bought property search website CommonFloor. The newly enlarged group will aim to leverage an expanded recruiting platform, an enhanced product portfolio and access to Hiree's existing customer base, which includes some of India's largest IT companies.

Previous investors in Quikr include Kinnevik, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Steadview Capital, Omidyar Network and Ebay. Tiger Global Management led a $150 million round of funding for the company last year.

Brand claims to have partnered with more than 850 domestic companies with a total investment value of some $2.5 billion. Other recent activity in analytics-driven businesses includes a INR1.5 billion investment in Indian app-based taxi service provider Meru Cab.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Consumer
• Venture
• India
• TMT
• Brand Capital