Chalo, a company that offers bus tracking and ticketing services, has received $20 million from Avataar Ventures. This is the company’s first investment round for 2023.
According to its regulatory filing in Singapore, the board of directors at Chalo has approved a special resolution to distribute 3,015 preference shares at an issue price of $6634 per share in order to raise $20 million.
After the recent cash infusion, LightRock is still the company’s largest shareholder with 30.2% of the total shares, while new investor Avatar Ventures holds a 7.1% stake in the Bangalore-based business.
According to media reports, the company has a post-allotment value of about $290 million. Chalo’s valuation decreased in this round as well; in October 2021, when it raised $40 million in a round led by LightRock, the company had a valuation of about $365 million.
A $10 million secondary component of the Series C round was used to repurchase ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) to reward both current and former employees. To date, Chalo has raised roughly $100 million in various rounds.
Chalo earns money by forming partnerships with regional city bus operators all over India and offering GPS tracking, online ticketing, and digital bus passes for multiple trips. The operators pay Chalo for generating more passengers.
The company has not yet submitted its financial statements for FY23, but FY22 saw a flat growth in revenue. In FY22, Chalo’s operating revenue increased to Rs 35.75 crore from Rs 26.17 crore, as reported in its annual financial statements. The company’s losses increased by over 2X during that time, to Rs 66.4 crore.
