Singapore's Pegasus 7 acquires Axiata Digital Ventures portfolio
Pegasus 7 Ventures, an investment fund managed by Singapore’s Gordian Capital, has agreed to acquire the venture portfolio of Axiata Digital, the digital services arm of Malaysia’s Axiata Group, at a valuation of $140 million.
Axiata Digital’s venture investments focus on companies that use innovative technology to address the needs of under-served communities. The portfolio includes stakes in businesses such as Indian rural e-commerce platform StoreKing and Bima, a developer of insurance technology products focused on emerging markets.
Pegasus 7 founder and CEO Gautam Saxena, a former head of Asia telecom and media at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who served as an advisor to Axiata Digital until last August, will manage the portfolio post-acquisition. The new owners plan to accelerate growth by giving companies more access to global financial, strategic, and operational partners.
“The partners in Pegasus 7 understand our vision, our markets, and our portfolio companies, which we’ve built to focus on our ecosystem of telecommunications and digital assets,” said Axiata Digital CEO Mohd Khairil Abdullah in a statement. “We strongly believe this handover will ensure the assets continue to thrive through access to our customer base, joint marketing, and other synergistic activities.”
Saxena founded Pegasus in January 2017 with the goal of supporting entrepreneurs focused on addressing the needs of emerging markets, with a primary focus on Asia. The fund is part of the Gordian Capital platform, which provides investment professionals with the operational infrastructure and regulatory support to launch a variety of funds, including venture capital, private equity, private credit, and real estate, along with a range of public market vehicles.
Gordian has launched 56 funds since 2005, several of which have spun out from the platform to operate independently. Examples include Beenext Capital Management, which left the platform in 2017, and Qualgro, which spun out the same year and is currently raising its second fund.
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