Latest News | BlackSoil Raises Rs 110 Cr in First Closing of BICF

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Alternative credit platform BlackSoil on Thursday said it has raised Rs 110 crore in the first close of its Rs 350 crore-BlackSoil India Credit Fund (BICF).

The funds were raised primarily from family offices and high net worth individuals (HNIs) despite tough market conditions especially considering the pandemic, a statement said.

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The fund will use the capital to a differentiated credit strategy comprising venture and structured debt, and target startups/companies across mid and growth stages, it added.

The fund aims to raise a total of Rs 350 crore and complete over 30 deals with an average cheque size of Rs 10-20 crore per investment, the statement said.

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This is the third AIF to be launched by BlackSoil after raising Rs 480 crore in the first two AIFs that were focused on the real estate credit asset class.

Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) refers to a fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.

While the latest fund is sector agnostic, BlackSoil will specifically look at companies with a strong cash flow and those that are Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) positive or reasonably on that trajectory, the statement said.

"We are seeing a strong pipeline of startups across technology, healthcare, enterprise and consumer segments with a need to finance their growing businesses, which will continue to grow in the coming years," BlackSoil co-founder Ankur Bansal said.

BlackSoil - through its NBFC arm (BlackSoil Capital) - has deployed Rs 950 crore over four years across over 70 transactions in companies like Oyo Rooms, Zetwerk, Spinny, Purplle, Koye Pharma, EarlySalary, LetsTransport, IndustryBuying and iNurture etc, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)