30-06-2025
Eight Roads Ventures sells stakes in three firms to TR Capital in $50-million secondary deal
Mumbai: Eight Roads Ventures has sold its stakes in software-as-a-service (Saas) platforms MoEngage and Whatfix as well as logistics firm Shadowfax to TR Capital in a $50-million secondary transaction, the companies said in a statement on Monday. Eight Roads first invested in Shadowfax in 2015, Moengage in 2020 and Whatfix in 2019.
MoEngage is a customer engagement platform designed for marketers and product owners to engage, retain and acquire customers across digital touchpoints, while Whatfix provides in-app guidance, training and analytics to help users navigate underlying enterprise software. Shadowfax is a last-mile logistics player that operates in more than 2,500 cities and towns and delivers more than two million shipments daily.
Backed by Fidelity, Eight Roads Ventures is a global investment firm that has partnered with more than 300 technology and healthcare companies across India, China, Japan, Europe and the US.
Frederic Azemard, managing partner at TR Capital, said, 'Partnering with Eight Roads India showcased that capability: together, we translated a multi-asset opportunity into a win-win transaction for all parties involved. As an acknowledged pioneer of Asia's secondary market, TR Capital will continue expanding its footprint and collaborating with top-tier partners such as Eight Roads to deliver value from complexity,'
Secondary transactions are increasing gaining traction in India as several investors at the end of their fund's life cycle are seeking liquidity and gearing up to exit companies they have been invested in for some time.
As companies grow and mature, secondary transactions, in which existing investors sell their shares, become a common method for liquidity, according to an EY report. The value of strategic exits and secondary exits grew by 5% to $3.7 billion in 2024 from $3.5 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow further, EY said in January.
The increase in secondaries also follows delays in initial public offerings (IPOs) owing to market volatility amid macroeconomic challenges. For instance, LG Electronics delayed its initial public offering (IPO) for its Indian subsidiary, LG Electronics India, due to market volatility earlier this year.
Several investment firms such as Multiples and ChrysCapital have pursued continuation funds to remain invested in some of their winning companies while looking to provide exits to their limited partners invested in these funds. These vehicles allow firms to support trophy assets that need more time than the typical fund cycle to reach their full potential while giving limited partners a level of certainty on the returns they will get.
India is also seeing a growing appetite for dedicated secondaries funds. Last year Oister Global and Tribe Capital launched a $500 million India-focused secondaries fund. Piyush Gupta, former managing director of venture capital firm Peak XV, launched Kenro Capital to target late-stage secondary deals but didn't disclose details about the size of the fund.
TR Capital has increased its focus on India since 2008 and has provided liquidity solutions to several private equity firms through single-asset and portfolio transactions. Its other notable transactions include acquiring stakes from Samara Capital in Sahajanand Medical Technologies Ltd, First Meridian Business Services Pvt. Ltd, and Paradise Food Court Pvt. Ltd in a $150-million secondary deal in 2023.
