📈 60,000,000% growth
Paytm unveils IPO date, Shiba Inu resumes its meteoric rise, Acko raises $255 million and some more updates.
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First up,
Market Recap 📈
Indian benchmark indices reported their worst one-day fall since April, falling nearly 2%. Meanwhile, US stocks dropped from all-time highs, with shares of small companies leading declines.
Sensex: 59,984.70 (-1.89%) ↓
Nifty 50: 17,857.25 (-1.94%) ↓
Dow Jones: 35,490.69 (-0.74%) ↓
Nasdaq 100: 15,598.39 (+0.25%) ↑
Bitcoin: $60,979.96
Top Stories 📰
1. Paytm to go public next month 🤑
It's official! India's biggest IPO is all set to launch next month.
Mobile payments firm Paytm said in its Red Herring Prospectus that it plans to go public somewhere between November 8-10 at a price band of Rs. 2,080-2,150.
The company aims to raise Rs 18,300 crore ($2.4 billion) from the sale in what could be the biggest in the history of Indian capital markets, a record previously held by Coal India, which raised Rs 15,000 crore back in 2010.
The offer consists of a fresh issue of ₹8,300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to ₹10,000 crore. The OFS comprises of Rs 402 crore stake of founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, while others including Ant Group Co.’s Antfin Holding BV, SoftBank’s SVF Panther Ltd, Elevation Capital V Ltd, and Saif III Mauritius, will also sell their stakes.
Paytm had previously aimed for a Diwali launch, but the plan got delayed as it awaited SEBI's approval. Additionally, it intended to raise more than $20 billion based on initial investor feedback, but advisers on the deal recommended lower pricing.
The Noida-based startup plans to use the fresh capital for new business initiatives and acquisitions and bolster its payment ecosystem.
Why it matters? Several Indian tech startups have raised massive fundings despite burning a significant amount of cash amid the pandemic. In July, food delivery app Zomato raised $1.3 billion, while cosmetics retailing platform Nykaa launched its Rs 5,352 crore IPO today.
2. 'Dogecoin Killer' is back in action ⚔️
Shiba Inu, a meme cryptocurrency based on another meme token Dogecoin, reported an astonishing surge in its prices in the last 24 hours, rising upto 70% to reach a market capitalization of over $39 billion. It's currently the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market cap in the world.
The token has surged roughly 60,000,000% over the past year, making several investors millionaires—and some billionaires—overnight.
Why the surge? Two main reasons:
An unconfirmed rumour suggested that Shibu Inu coins will soon be listed on Robinhood. Meanwhile, a Change.org petition floated on the internet, urging the trading platform to list SHIB. It has around 378,754 signatures so far.
Elon Musk tweeted a photo of SHIB token going to the Moon but later clarified that he doesn't own the digital currency. Soon, the cryptocurrency nosedived 15% from its all-time high reached on Sunday.
During an earnings call this week, Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev said that it will consider including new tokens "in a way that's safe for customers and in line with regulatory requirements.".
Shiba Inu was founded in August 2020 by an anonymous person named Ryoshi. It runs on the Ethereum blockchain.
Why it matters? Volatility is the name of the game. While some see SHIB's parabolic rise as a welcome for more cryptocurrencies into the mainstream focus, others speculate that the recent broader market highlights the excess greed often seen at market tops.
Deal Street 🤑
Fintech startup Zolve secures $40 million funding round
Global neobanking startup Zolve raises a $40 million Series A funding round at a $210 million valuation. The round, led by partners of DST Global, saw participation from new investors such as Alkeon Capital and Tiger Global and existing investors including Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Bangalore-based startup, founded last year, provides financial solutions to students and working professionals moving to the United States. In February, the company had raised a $15 million seed round at a $50 million valuation. So far, it has over 70,000 customers in India, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Australia, among others. Zolve now plans to use the fresh capital towards rapidly scaling its financial services platform.
Acko becomes India's 34th unicorn startup
Acko General Insurance, a Mumbai-based digital insurance provider, has raised $255 million in its Series D funding round co-led by Multiples Private Equity and General Atlantic. The latest round values the company at $1.1 billion, making it India's 34th startup to enter the ever-growing unicorn club. Acko sells digital-first insurance products across bike, car, travel, gadgets, and health insurance, partnering with companies like Ola, MakeMyTrip, Amazon, and Urban Company to distribute its products. As of today, the Amazon-backed insurtech startup provides corporate insurance to 500,000 workers across 150 organisations. The new funds will be used for expanding its auto insurance vertical and micro-insurance products across travel, gadgets, and appliances.
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