India Wealth Fund Drops Investment in TPG-Backed FirstCry
India’s sovereign wealth fund has scrapped plans to invest in FirstCry.com, an e-commerce startup backed by TPG.
(Bloomberg) -- India’s sovereign wealth fund has scrapped plans to invest in FirstCry.com, an e-commerce startup backed by TPG, people familiar with the matter said.
The country’s National Investment & Infrastructure Fund Ltd. pulled out of a deal to buy a stake in online baby marketplace FirstCry.com being sold by an existing investor, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is not public. PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro Ltd.’s billionaire founder Azim Premji, is planning to step in and buy the stake, according to the people.
FirstCry, formally known as BrainBees Solutions Pvt, runs an online store featuring products for children and expecting mothers. Its investors include TPG, Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. and local investment firm ChrysCapital.
Representatives for NIIF, FirstCry and PremjiInvest didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
India’s antitrust regulator approved NIIF’s investment in FirstCry in February. Through its funds, NIIF has previously invested in companies including Hindustan Infralog, Ayana Renewable Power and Manipal Hospitals.
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