Tiger Global exits Just Dial for over Rs 430 cr; did its e-comm entry fuel the selloff?

Private equity giant Tiger Global exited its investment in local search engine Just Dial for over Rs 430 crore through an open market transaction. According to a BSE filing, Tiger Global Four JD Holdings and Tiger Global Five Indian Holdings sold 37.89 lakh shares, representing 5.37 percent of Just Dial. The shares were offloaded on May 19 based on the closing price of Rs 1,138.65 and the transaction is estimated to have been valued at Rs 431.49 crore. [caption id=“attachment_2256270” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Just Dial shares have declined 20% this year[/caption] On March 30, Tiger Global had offloaded 3.41 percent in Just Dial for over Rs 300 crore through an open market transaction. According to BSE data, as of quarter ended March 31, 2015, Tiger Global Four JD Holdings and Tiger Global Five Indian Holdings held 6.96 percent and 4.32 percent stake, respectively, in Just Dial. Last year, SAIF and Sequoia Capital also part-exited Justdial. Founded by V S S Mani, the company started offering local search services in 1996 under the Just Dial brand. At 12.40 pm, the stock was trading at Rs 1,129.80, down 0.78 percent from its previous close. Since the beginning of 2015, the stock has plunged nearly 20 percent till date. A  report in NextBigWhat recently noted that more than 68 start-ups that started operations in the recent few years have disrupted the market of Just Dial. As per the graphic, in restaurant search space itself there are 10 companies, such as Zomato, Foodpanda, Tiny Owl, Yumist etc. The same is the case with grocery space too, where now there are at least seven start-ups including Big Basket and Grofers. However, this is unlikely to be  the reason for Tiger Global’s exit. According to a report in Techcircle, Just Dial has recently entered the e-commerce space. It is to be remembered that Tiger Global is a key investor in Flipkart, the biggest e-commerce market place in India. With inputs from PTI