Omnivore exits India agtech player Eruvaka
Indian agriculture technology specialist Omnivore Partners claims to have achieved the country’s largest exit in the sector to date with the sale of aquaculture start-up Eruvaka to Dutch strategic Nutreco.
Financial details were not disclosed, but Omnivore’s website provides a link to a VCCircle report claiming the exit generated a 9x to 10x return. Eruvaka has been profitable since the 2019 financial year and has delivered 168.5% annual revenue growth since financial 2018, according to a statement.
Omnivore first invested in the company one year after its launch in 2013. The GP re-upped at least once in 2018 with an investment of undisclosed size alongside Nutreco, a leading fish feed maker globally.
Nutreco is increasing its stake from 25.4% at the time of the 2018 deal to 93.7% and plans to rise to 100% in 2023. The company is also active in the region as an LP of 8F Asset Management, a Singapore-based GP dedicated to sustainably farmed salmon.
Eruvaka provides cloud-based aquaculture pond management systems, including real-time monitoring and smart feeders, across India, Australia, Vietnam, several Latin American markets, and Hawaii. The technology encompasses sensors, mobile connectivity, automated decision-making, and the internet of things.
Aquaculture has proven a fertile theme for private equity and venture capital. Investors cite a mix of overlapping themes around rising demand for protein and sustainable production as well as a fragmented business landscape ripe for digitalisation. Recent activity around the region includes sizeable rounds for players such as Aruna and eFishery.
Founded in 2010, Omnivore brands itself as a pioneer of Indian agtech and has recently entered the food-tech space through an initiative called OmniX Bio. It has invested in more than 40 start-ups to date, including B2B marketplace DeHaat and satellite imaging provider Pixxel.
The firm launched its third fund with a target of USD 130m earlier this year with a view to backing another 25-30 early-stage start-ups in the sector. Fund II closed on USD 97m in 2019, while Fund I raised USD 33m in 2013.
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