Indian tech listings-focused SPAC files for IPO in US

In what is likely to boost a flurry of Indian tech listings in the United States, two leading Indian venture capitalists have come together to launch a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Think Elevation Capital, a newly formed entity, launched by Elevation Capital’s Ravi Adusumalli and Think Investments’ Shashin Shah, has filed for a $225 million IPO with the SEC, as per filings from March 19.

The SPAC also has leading members from the Indian startup ecosystem on its board, including the likes of Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, former WhatsApp global business head Neeraj Arora, former SoftBank executive Kabir Misra, and Dream11 founder Harsh Jain.

While Adusumalli and Shah will be co-CEOs, Tom Glaser will be the Chief Financial Officer, and Vivek Mathur, the Chief Operating Officer. They will be supported by the Think Investments and Elevation Capital global investment teams, the filing said.

“Think Elevation Capital Growth Opportunities is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination,” the company said in the filing.

“Our primary focus will be on the Indian technology ecosystem. The Indian technology sector is a large and growing market that we believe will provide attractive target opportunities for us. We believe our management’s, board of directors’ and sponsor’s experience and track record of investing in Indian technology companies make us very well placed to take advantage of this opportunity,” the filing says.

Think Investments and Elevation Capital have combined private investments of $1.3 billion across 104 companies as of December 31, 2020. Of these companies, nine have become unicorns.

Adusumalli is one of the leading VCs of the Indian startup world, with Elevation Capital (known as Saif Partners earlier) backing the likes of Paytm, Swiggy, FirstCry, MakeMyTrip, Unacademy and several leading international companies in the country.

Think Investments is based in San Francisco, USA, with local presence in Mumbai, India and Singapore. Since completing its first investment in 2013, Think Investment’s portfolio in India reflects approximately $1 billion of investments as of February 28, 2021, including early-stage investments in Dream11, PharmEasy and Chaayos; growth capital investments in the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd and Experian PLC; and public investments in Bajaj Finance Ltd., Laurus Labs Limited and Radico Khaitan Ltd. CNBCTV18