Dharana Capital, a subsidiary of Vy Capital, has purchased secondary shares worth $50 million from founders, early investors, and staff members. Notably, Prosus also took part in a $63 million secondary round that included this transaction.
According to a company official who spoke with Entrcakr, this transaction also includes a $25 million ESOP buyback from employees in May of this year.
According to a press release from the fund, Vamsi Duvvuri, the founder and managing partner of Dharana Capital, will also become a non-executive director on the board of Urban Company after the secondary transaction. A fund with an emphasis on India, Dharana Capital has backed a number of startups, including Itilite, Lentra, NoBroker, and Zopper.
Approximately 784 of the 1,593 employees who have received ESOPs from Urban Company to date have taken part in five buybacks, selling shares valued at Rs 306 crore ($37 million).
At a $2.8 billion valuation, Urban Company ended its most recent ESOP liquidity program in December 2021. Media reports state that the latest buyback occurred at a valuation of between $2.2 and $2.5 billion.
According to media, Urban Company reported revenue of Rs 637 crore for FY23 and cut its losses by 40.1% over the course of the fiscal year. In April, the company’s profit before taxes also increased. Crucially, it also asserted that it had turned a profit at the PBT level during the FY25 June quarter.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and 62 Indian cities are currently served by Urban Company. The company employs over 55,000 carefully chosen service professionals as partners.
