Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) India, which invests on behalf of US-based bank Wells Fargo, has reinvested in Pepperfry.com, an online lifestyle store run by India-based Trendsutra Platform Services, alongside Germany-based media group Bertelsmann.
The two firms committed Rs 950m ($16.1m) to Pepperfry in its series C round. In May 2013 NVP reinvested $8m in a second round of funding for Pepperfry, after providing $5m in December 2011.
Shobhna Mohn, executive vice-president of emerging markets at Bertelsmann, said: “India is a strategic growth region for Bertelsmann. By investing in Pepperfry, we strengthen our business in the e-commerce sector, which is growing very rapidly in India.”
Pepperfry is Bertelsmann’s third direct investment in India. Last year, the company bought a stake in real-estate portal, Indiaproperty.com, as well as in Authorgen Technologies and its online education platform, Wiziq.com.
Other recent investments by NVP India include non-banking finance company Cholamandalam Investment & Finance, which raised capital in a qualified institutional placement.