Well, we are in the nation where StartUps are build to sell, not mentioning everyone as the same and it’s completely not so serious just kidding.This year we have almost 123 Indian Startup acquisitions compared to 2016 acquisitions are down this year because there are 155 acquisitions in 2016.
Basically, there are many Startups in India where our Governments are providing Incubators to develop your thoughts into Startup/Companies and there is a policy of 10 years no Tax for Start-Up in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has T-Hub which welcoming many Tech industries, innovative thoughts are always taken into higher priorities.
Basically, 2017 had 1000+ Startup shutdowns in India due to lack of investment, due to loses and there may be many reasons for shutdowns, where this is India when someone growing up the neighbours can’t digest and there many some clashes with co-companies.
All the Data Credit goes to “Inc42 Datalabs” Where Inc42 Data labs showcase all the Startup Data including acquisitions to Shutdowns and they will cover every Startup story into deep and analyses the best and the worst.
This year we have heard the biggest acquisition for a long time with high buzz and finally didn’t happen “Flipkart and Snapdeal acquisition went high Snapdeal had already signed in an agreement too but it went off after a long time”, here we have many like this some are on rader, some are on roads and some are still in news
Here are 8 High Profile Startup Acquisitions Happened in 2017
1) ItzCash
The U.S based Ebix Inc acquired ItzCash Indian Payment firm for $123 Million against 80% Stake.
Founder Naveen Surya announced officially in May 2017 that ItzCash is acquired by Ebix.
2) Freecharge
Competing against players like Paytm, Mobikwik, FreeCharge provides online recharge and bill payment services. It was launched in 2010, a period when the term “fintech” was not even fully known in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Once Freecharge was on 7th Cloud that Snapdeal held Freecharge for $400 Mn but later Snapdeal was in news which is going to be acquired by Flipkart due to loses Freecharge was felled in path where it went to loses due to competitors like paytm and mobikwik and sold Freecharge to Axis Bank for $60 Million in July 2017
3) Zarget
Founded by ex-Zoho veterans, SaaS-based web optimisation and marketing platform Zarget had a dream year in 2016 with over $7.5 Mn funding from investors such as Accel Partners, Matrix Partners, Girish Mathrubootham, CEO of Freshdesk and Sequoia India.
However, the fast-moving ride of Zarget was brought to a halt suddenly by the founders in their last-ditch effort to retain what it had in a high churn, high CAC (customer acquisition costs), and high competition market. In August 2017, the company got acquired by Freshworks for $18 Million, which was apparently a major stepping stone in the career of all Zarget founders.
4) Runnr
Runnr, we regular found here in Bangalore where Zomato delivers were dine by this Runnr boys.From its launch to pivot; and from acquiring another startup TinyOwl to its rebranding, this Bengaluru-based startup has been one hell of the newsmaker.
The Same year it competed with Zomato and Swiggy in Food delivery process and later on sold out to Zomato.
5) Little: 
Little was known by many I think because once a long time ago I have used Little for a deal at my nearest restaurant. Where Little Internet provides Coupons and offers at our nearest restaurant.Later on, it was acquired by Paytm in December 2017, the amount for the acquisition was not disclosed till now.
6) Nearbuy: Nearbuy is also famously known as it provides best offers and provides coupons for restaurant and shops near us, Where Nearbuy previously known as Groupon India and later rebranded as Nearbuy.
Just like Little Internet, deep discounts and lack of loyal customers forced Nearbuy to opt for the acquisition route. Also, this was the time when investors had lost their interest in the hyperlocal deals and coupons platforms.
Where the investors lost the hopes anymore and contact Vijay Shekar Sharma Founder of Paytm and now Little Internet and Nearbuy are merged and both are acquired by Paytm in December 2017
7) MobiSwipe:
Launched back in 2011, MobiSwipe is a payments enabler for merchants to facilitate payments via credit and debit cards through its mobile application. Making its first Indian startup acquisition, the UAE-based payments solutions provider, the OMA Emirates acquired MobiSwipe in February 2017.
8) India.com
Launched in 2010, India Web portal was a digital Marketing distribution company. It is a JV of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Penske Media Corporation, which is a US-based digital and publishing giant. Initially, the company was formed with 51% shareholding of ZEEL.
Based out of Mumbai, India Webportal India had three regional offices in NCR, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The platform distributes its content through 13 digital brands including – India.com, Bollywoodlife.com, CricketCountry.com, TheHealthSite.com, BGR, among others. It also claims to have been reaching 8 Mn consumers on a monthly basis.
However, as per media reports, the company was suffering from mounting liabilities and was shackled in losses. In FY ’16-17, India Webportal earned a total income of about $10.2 Mn, while its losses stood at $2.15 Mn (INR 13.8 Cr) during the same period.
The parent firm Zee Entertainment thus bought the remaining 49% holding in the company from existing investors MMC Investments Holding Company II Ltd (44%), and Ashok Kurien (5%) for $30.7 Mn.
These are the High profile Companies which are Acquired by big giants and Stay tuned to Wirally Tech for Tech stories.
