The Venture Intelligence Blog

Economic Times has a feature on SKS Microfinance and the company's founder Vikram Akula pegged on the recent move by SKS Trust which holds a 12.6% in the publicly listed company to nominate Akula to its board. Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

For Sequoia Capital India, its 2007 investment in SKS Microfinance, founded by former McKinsey consultant Vikram Akula, was one of its first outside the technology sector. With SKS’ successful August 2010 listing, Sequoia, which had invested $32 million in the company over three years, is now sitting on returns of about 13x (at the mid-September market price). Extracts from an interview with Sumir Chadha, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital India , , who represents the firm on the SKS board, on the path-breaking investment. This interview was first published in the latest quarterly Venture Intelligence India Roundup Private Equity report . Venture Intelligence: Tell us how the original investment by Sequoia in SKS come about. Sumir Chadha: In early 2006, we identified the microfinance sector as an area of interest, and proactively reached out to the top players in the sector. At the time, people forget, but SKS Microfinance was the third largest player in the industry. However...

Between March 2006 and Nov 2008, SKS Microfinance received investments of $111 million from Private Equity – the largest by any company in this sector. PE investors in the company (not including pre-IPO placements) include Unitus, Sequoia Capital India, SVB, Sandstone Capital, Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures and Kismet Capital. March-2006 Unitus and Vinod Khosla invest $0.5 million each for a total stake of 30.18%. Company Valuation : $3.3 Million March-2007 Sequoia Capital India, Unitus, Vinod Khosla and Odyssey Capital invest as part of a $12 million round. Shares are issued at Rs.49.77 per share. Of this, Sequoia invests $6.2 M for 20.38% stake, while Unitus and Vinod Khosla invested $1.5 million for 4.95% each; Odyssey Capital invests $1 million for 3.35%. Company Valuation : $30.3 Million January-2008 Sequoia Capital India, SVB, Unitus, Kismet Capital and Vinod Khosla invest $23 million for a 28.86% stake. Shares were issued at Rs.70.67 per share. Of this, S...