⁠Country Delight’s backers look to dilute Orios Venture Partners’ stake amid larger fundraise

“The company is also scouting for a new investor to put in fresh capital as a part of a $150 million funding round that will be a mix of primary and secondary capital,” one of the people said. “All existing investors are expected to infuse a proportionate amount of capital to buy Orios’s stake in the company,” the second person said, adding that details around the valuation were yet to be determined.

“The exit is likely to help the investment firm show some liquidity and distribute capital to its limited partners,” the people cited above said.

Though Orios is looking for a full exit, it will only be able to sell a partial stake in this round, said a third person directly involved with the deal. “Eventually, when the company gets to an IPO, the cap table will be cleaner. Orios will sell more through [the public offering],” this person added.

Investment firms under pressure

Several investment firms are under pressure to deliver exits and returns to their limited partners (LPs). As a result, venture capital and private equity firms have been harnessing various exit strategies such as continuation vehicles, secondary stake sales, initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers & acquisitions to partially or fully exit their portfolio companies. This is especially important for them as they look to raise more capital from the same LPs.

“We recently closed our fund so we have no plans for a new one yet. (We) cannot confirm any exit specifics as investments and exits are part of everyday life at a fund. Both are announced after they are done,” Orios’s managing partner Rehan Yar Khan told Mint in an emailed statement.

Country Delight did not respond to Mint’s requests for comment.

Earlier this year Mint reported exclusively that the dairy startup had mandated Avendus to help with a $100 million fundraise. The round, which has since expanded slightly, is likely to close by later this year.

Partial exit

Last year, Orios partially exited the company by selling about a 3% stake for ₹225 crore. The venture capital firm first invested about ₹3 crore in the company from its maiden fund in 2017 and has subsequently topped up its stake in the company. Before the partial exit, Orios held 21-22% in the company, according to an ET report in February 2024.

The first fund, launched in 2014, closed at ₹300 crore the following year. It backed 18 companies including Country Delight, e-pharmacy company PharmEasy, and shared-accommodation firm Zostel. The sector-agnostic fund is said to have returned to investors what they put in, but the company expects better returns in 2024 and 2025, it said in January 2024. It typically focuses on early-stage startups with investments of $1-2 million.

Last year Mint reported that Mumbai-based Orios planned to launch its fourth fund in 2025 with a corpus of about $120-150 million. However, the firm marked its final close around $85.3 million, according to a VCCircle report in April.

Founded in 2015 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight operates in the milk products and fresh produce category with its own branded offerings, and currently serves about 1.5 million users across 15 Indian cities. It offers daily subscriptions, serving its customers fresh cow & buffalo milk, curd, ghee, paneer, bread, eggs and other staples.

Funding rounds

The startup has raised about $200 million across 18 rounds. Besides Orios, its investors include Matrix Partners, IIFL Asset Management and Elevation Capital, according to market intelligence provider Tracxn.

Its last sizeable round was in 2022, when it raised $108 million in Series D funding at a valuation of $615 million. The round was led by investors including Venturi Partners and Singaporean private equity major Temasek, with participation from Asia-focused SWC Global and Trifecta Capital. Earlier this year, Country Delight secured about $25 million in an extended Series E round from Temasek at a valuation of $820 million, according to a report by Entrackr.

In FY24 the company posted revenue of ₹1380 crore, a 46% increase from the previous year, according to a report by the ARC. The report added the growth was driven mainly by increase in subscribers and sales of non-dairy products such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and pulses. It was also powered by high-quality produce, ease of engagement, and a robust distribution network for predictable deliveries. The company has said it aims to further strengthen its supply chain and expand across India.

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