Hike exits WinZo through $12 million buyback

Hike, an early investor in social gaming platform WinZO, has exited the firm following a $12 million share buyback. WinZO said this gave Hike a four-fold return on the investment it made in May 2019.

The buyback comes after the company raised an additional $13 million from existing investors Stephan Pagliuca, Makers Fund and Courtside Venture.

Earlier this year, Hike had announced it was shutting down its primary messaging business and launching a gaming app called Rush, similar to WinZO.


This exit, which has received a go-ahead from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, saw WinZO buy back Hike’s share for $12 million, making it one of the largest such transactions by an early-stage startup in India. Hike had earlier participated in the $5 million Series-A funding in WinZO back in 2019 and has walked away with 4X returns in 18 months.

Paavan Nanda, co-founder of WinZO, said, “Hike’s been given a complete exit from WinZO. As founders, we are super chuffed and humbled to have a board that is extremely bullish and completely aligned with the audacious goals we have set for ourselves. They had immensely supported the company through the process.”