AAA Oda drops Kolonial past to raise $265m

Oda drops Kolonial past to raise $265m

Norway-based online grocer Oda has raised €223m ($265m) in a round co-led by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and Prosus, an internet group majority-owned by media and e-commerce conglomerate Naspers, TechCrunch has reported.

The round included discount grocery chain Rema and investment firm Kinnevik, and it was disclosed earlier today alongside the company’s rebranding from its old moniker of Kolonial. The cash was secured at a $900m post-money valuation, it told TechCrunch.

Founded in 2013, Oda provides an online platform for grocery shopping that also offers same-day delivery, through a network of fulfilment centres. The funding will support an international expansion set to begin with Finland.

Kinnevik took a 15% stake in Kolonial in 2018 through a $23.6m primary in investment and the purchase of $11.8m of shares through a secondary transaction. It said today its stake now stands at 21%.

Shipping, investment and real estate group Rasmussen invested $18m in the company in August 2017 to increase its shareholding to 18%, after Kolonial founder and chief executive Karl Munthe-Kaas sold $1m worth of shares to an unnamed backer earlier in the year.

Rasmussen also took part in an $18m funding round for the company in 2016 alongside apparel retailer Varner, Arctic Capital, an investment subsidiary of seafood exporter Arctic Group, and family offices Stenshagen and Pactum.

Rema had secured a 10% stake in Kolonial through a strategic partnership formed the same year. It has raised over $1.6m across funding rounds backed by Verdane Capital, Alliance Venture Spring and Skyfall Ventures in 2015.