Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, the founders of the e-commerce giant Snapdeal and the investment fund Titan Capital, are once again making headlines for their impressive investment returns. Back in 2015, they invested a modest Rs 57 lakh in the home services platform Urban Company, a decision that has now yielded a staggering 200 times return.
Sources reveal that Bahl and Bansal have recently sold their entire stake in Urban Company to V Capital’s Dharana Capital for a hefty Rs 111 crore. This secondary deal also saw some Urban Company employees selling their stock options. Following this transaction, Vamsi Duvvuri, Founder and Managing Partner of Dharana Capital, will join the board of Urban Company as a non-executive director. While Bahl confirmed his exit from Urban Company, he refrained from divulging further details.
Titan Capital, known for its history of making highly profitable investments, has a track record of achieving returns of 100x or more in companies like Ola Cabs, OffBusiness, and Credgenix. It’s worth noting that Titan Capital’s stake in OffBusiness remains intact. In a statement, Titan Capital remarked that Urban Company is now in a robust position, expressing gratitude for being part of its journey from the early days.
Bahl and Bansal have declared that the profits from Urban Company will be channeled towards supporting the next generation of founders. Through Titan Capital, the Snapdeal founders have made angel investments in 300 startups using their personal capital. Last year, they sold shares worth approximately Rs 78 crore in Mamaearth’s parent company Honasa Consumer through the IPO. At the issue price of Rs 324 per share, Bahl and Bansal earned returns of more than 100 times the acquisition cost of Rs 3.21 per share.
Urban Company, which reported revenue of Rs 282-283 crore in the April-June quarter this year, is expected to become profitable in this financial year. This recent success not only highlights the effectiveness of Bahl and Bansal’s investment strategy but also underscores their significant contributions to the startup ecosystem.
