Carlyle set to invest $45 mn in DailyHunt

New Delhi & Mumbai: Bulge-bracket private equity firm Carlyle Group is in advanced discussions to invest an estimated $45 million (about Rs 308 crore) in news and content application Daily-Hunt, as the Bengaluru-based company looks to delve deeper in the vernacular content space, while continuing to stave off stiff competition from its deep-pocketed Chinese rivals.

If successful the transaction could value the 12-year-old company at about $650 million, pre-money, according to multiple sources aware of the development. Separately, Japan’s SoftBank, which operates the world’s largest pool of private capital, has also had discussions with Daily-Hunt, to potentially invest $120-$150 million in the company. When contacted by ET, Daily-Hunt spokespersons said the company did not comment on “speculative” stories, while Carlyle Group spokespersons declined to comment.

Additionally, a SoftBank spokesperson also said that the Japanese investor "did not comment on speculation."


The development comes at a time when DailyHunt, which has emerged as one of the largest Indic news and content apps in the country, is looking to further venture into vernacular segment that makes up the majority of consumers using the services. The company also competes with Times Internet, the digital arm of Bennett Coleman & Co, the publisher of The Economic Times.

Umang Bedi, President of Daily-Hunt, in an interview last year, claimed that the app had 100 million monthly active users. The company competes with a host of other startups operating in the space, including, InShorts, which counts New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management as a backer.