Spent Rs 57 lakh, earned Rs 111 crore...meet businessmen who emerge winner in Urban Company deal

Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, founders of the e-commerce firm Snapdeal and investment fund Titan Capital, have recently made headlines with their impressive investment returns. Back in 2015, they invested Rs 57 lakh in the home services platform Urban Company. This investment has now yielded a staggering 200 times return. According to sources, Bahl and Bansal sold their entire stake in Urban Company to V Capital’s Dharana Capital for Rs 111 crore. Additionally, some employees of Urban Company have also sold their stock options in this secondary deal. Following this transaction, Vamsi Duvvuri, Founder and Managing Partner of Dharana Capital, will join the board of Urban Company as a non-executive director.

Bahl confirmed his exit from Urban Company but did not provide further details. Titan Capital has a history of making highly profitable investments, achieving returns of 100x or more in companies like Ola Cabs, OffBusiness, and Credgenix. Notably, Titan Capital's stake in OffBusiness remains intact. In a statement, Titan Capital remarked that Urban Company is now in a strong position, expressing gratitude for being part of its journey from the early days.

Bahl and Bansal have stated that the profits from Urban Company will be used to support the next generation of founders. Through Titan Capital, the Snapdeal founders have made angel investments in 300 startups using their personal capital. Last year, they sold shares worth approximately Rs 78 crore in Mamaearth's parent company Honasa Consumer through the IPO. At the issue price of Rs 324 per share, Bahl and Bansal earned returns of more than 100 times the acquisition cost of Rs 3.21 per share.

Urban Company reported revenue of Rs 282-283 crore in the April-June quarter this year and is expected to be profitable in this financial year. This recent success highlights the effectiveness of Bahl and Bansal's investment strategy and their significant contributions to the startup ecosystem.