E-commerce firm Infibeam gets funding from TV18 Broadcast

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled TV18 Broadcast Ltd is investing up to Rs 40 crore ($6.23 million) in Ahmedabad-based Infibeam Incorporation Ltd.

Infibeam will issue fully convertible warrants equivalent to a 0.4% stake in the company upon conversion, the e-tailer said in a stock-exchange disclosure.

The transaction appears to be an ad-for-equity-style investment.

In a similar transaction, Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL), the publisher of The Times of India newspaper, had invested Rs 60 crore ($8.8 million) in Infibeam by subscribing to preferential warrants in January 2017.

Infibeam was founded in 2010 by former Amazon executive Vishal Mehta and operates an eponymous horizontal e-commerce platform. It was one of the youngest companies to list on a national exchange when it floated its initial public offering in March 2016.

Infibeam posted a net profit of Rs 30.8 crore on consolidated total income of Rs 214.94 crore for the quarter ended December 2017.

Last year, Infibeam had acquired Avenues India, which runs payment gateway CC Avenue.