Artha Venture Fund Saw 19x Return On Partial Exit From Everest Fleet

Artha Venture Fund-I, a microVC firm, said it saw a 19x return on its partial exit from its investment in fleet management provider Everest Fleet. 

The selling of the fund's portion of the company's stock netted it $2 million. The stake sale is a component of Everest Fleet's $20 million Series B fundraising round, which was spearheaded by Uber and Paragon Partners.  

Following its withdrawal, Artha Venture Fund reported an IRR of 105 per cent and a MoIC of 19x. In 2019, the fund made a Rs 10 crore investment in the business. "LPs who directly invested alongside Artha have exited partial stakes with corresponding returns," the company said in a release.  

“Everest Fleet confronted seemingly insurmountable challenges during the pandemic, facing a substantial setback. Yet, the resilience and innovative mindset of the founding team shone through. Their pivot to an asset-financing model unlocked considerable capital and enabled them to transition to an asset-light model in a traditionally capital-intensive sector," said Anirudh A Damani, managing partner at Artha Venture Fund. The statement added that the Everest Fleet was profitable in both FY22 and FY23. 

This will be the 31st exit from Artha Venture Fund's portfolio of more than 100 start-ups. A full withdrawal from Everest is anticipated to be a fund returner, which is defined as more than the total amount of the fund. The fund, which includes businesses like AgniKul, LenDenClub, Everest Fleet, Daalchini, and Elev8 India Sportz among others in its portfolio, currently owns a high single digit interest in the business, which it intends to sell in the months leading up to the business' anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in the next 24 to 36 months.