DSG Consumer Partners Announce The First Close Of $50 Mn Third Fund

Early-stage venture capital firm, DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP) has reportedly announced the launch of its third investment fund, which made its first close at $30 Mn. In addition to this, the firm also announced a growth fund for its top performing portfolio companies.

Primary investors in fund-III included Belgium-based Verlinvest, and Nigerian conglomerate Kewalram Chanrai Group. According to a Livemint report, the third fund is expected to be a $50 Mn fund.

This new fund will invest between $500K and $2 Mn in around 20 ventures spread over a three-year lifecycle. DSGCP founder Deepak Shahdadpuri told ET that the VC firm has stopped making any new investments from its second fund, the remaining corpus of the previous fund has been kept for making follow-on investments. DSGCP’s second venture capital fund had closed at $50 Mn (INR 319 Cr) in August 2017.

Shahdadpuri said in a media statement, “There has been strong demand, and we have been speaking to our existing investors. But we also expect 2-3 new investors to participate in fund-III. The limited partner profile will be a mix of institutions across Europe, Singapore USA, and family offices.”

DSGCP has also launched a separate growth fund which will focus on backing top companies in the investment firm’s portfolio. Firm’s portfolio includes companies such as fintech startup IndiaLends, tea retailer Chai Point, and mobile point of sale provider Mswipe Technologies, among others. DSGCP was also one of the early investors in Indian hospitality unicorn OYO Rooms.

“The buildout(growth) fund is geared to invest in about 10 companies—primarily from fund-I and some from fund II, and we will not invest outside the fund,” Shahdadpuri added.

Singapore-based DSG Consumer Partners is a Seed and Series A stage venture capital firm that is focused on investing in unlisted companies in exchange for minority equity shares. DSGCP has the flexibility to provide growth capital and to provide liquidity to founders and shareholders through secondary transactions. The firm has built a reputation of investing for the long-term with an investment span of six to ten years.

A typical DSGCP investment may range anywhere between $100K and $1 Mn. Over the lifecycle of an investment, DSG Consumer Partners can invest around $1 to $5 Mn in the investee company.

In the past few years, DSG Consumer Partners has also made multiple exits. Under the DSGCP I fund, the firm announced a complete exit from Singapore-based Redmart and Twitter-acquired startup Zipdial at 3.3X return. It has also made a partial exit from Veeba Foods with around 6.5X returns. Recently last month, the firm made a full exit from the hospitality giant OYO Rooms too.