- Tata was already providing funding to support startup companies
Ratan Tata was keen to invest in startup companies. Ratan Tata was the Chairman of the Tata Group from 1991 to 2012. During this period Tata Group's profits grew 51 times while its market cap grew 33 times.
After stepping down as chairman of the Tata Group, he invested in several startup companies. Recently he sold his 0.06% stake in brokerage platform Upstox for an average of $2 million i.e. approximately Rs. It was sold for 18 crores. He got a 23,000% return on his original investment in the company. After Ratan Tata stepped down as Group Chairman to support startup companies, he invested heavily in many companies and provided enough support to bring the companies forward.
Tata invested in Upstocks eight years ago. In 2016, it bought a 1.33% stake in the company. After this share sale Tata's stake in Upstoks came down to 1.27% and he still has 95% of his holding in Upstoks. The company plans to go public in the future. Ratan Tata had sold some shares in baby care platform FirstCry through the IPO route before the upstakes. Tata was a pioneer in providing funding to startup companies.
In which companies did Tata invest? After leading the Tata group for several decades, Ratan Tata invested in several startup companies as an angel investor. These include eyewear brand Lenskart, baby products brand Firstcry, service platform Urban Company and business-to-business marketplace Moglix. It also invested in Paytm, Ola and Snapdeal. Tata has invested in around 50 startup companies and most of them have performed very well. Companies like Firstcry gave excellent returns during their IPOs.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
