IndiaMART invested over Rs 900 cr to acquire startups; Here's why
Since going public, Noida-based B2B platform IndiaMART has invested in over a dozen firms. Here's an in-depth look at what the company looks for in a startup. When IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd, an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace, secured around Rs 1,070 crore from eligible institutional buyers in February 2021, it had a clear goal in mind: expansion. Inorganic growth, on the other hand, is difficult for IndiaMART, which supports buy-sell transactions in over 97,000 different categories. After all, it wanted to find firms that had a complementary synergy that would benefit its network of over 143 million customers and 7 million+ storefronts. Between February and November 2021, "we visited with over 200-300 companies and studied various areas," says Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART. While the Noida-based firm had made a few acquisitions previously, the buying spree truly began last year. It has invested about Rs 905 crore on 1...