Merisis Advisors to raise a dedicated startup fund

The fund will likely collect up to Rs 200 crore from a set of global private equity firms and local wealthy individuals or family offices.

Christened Merisis Opportunities Fund, and set up as a category 1 alternative investment fund (AIF), it has already raised about Rs 50 crore from a host of investors, including Bahram Vakil, cofounder of AZB Partners, Dev Bhattacharya, business head at Aditya Birla Group, and several other corporate executives of renowned companies.

The fund is in the process of raising another Rs 150-200 crore. The final figure has not been fixed yet.

The USP of the fund is that it offers individuals and family offices the opportunity to invest along with venture capitals (VCs) in such rounds.

“The fund can be earmarked as an angel investor fund and is not a discretionary setup, which is unique among startup funds,” said Sumir Verma, joint managing director at Merisis Advisors. “Post the pandemic we have witnessed a digital boom, a segment that throws up a whole lot of opportunities. We just want to tap that offering funding solutions.”

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Investors would have the flexibility to choose where they put their money based on the structure of the deal.

The proceeds will be deployed in Series A or B startups. When a startup establishes financial credentials, like consistent revenue or other performance indicator, it can go for Series A funding.

Similarly, B Series funding can be availed of once a startup is set for the next level of growth, coming out of the development stage. This level of companies are better placed than A Series ones in terms of financial parameters.

“This gives a strong risk mitigation to investors as the risk of not being able to raise capital has been addressed,” said Fazal Ahad, joint managing director at Merisis Advisors.

Earlier this week, Falguni Nayar-controlled Nykaa made a blockbuster entry into the stock market with investors witnessing a 78% surge in shares on the listing day.

Earlier, Zomato had set the ball rolling amid investor exuberance.

Those have collectively paved the way for more startup fundraising and stock market listings. This in turn, prompted yield-hungry global and local investors to bet on startup stories where India stands on a good stead.