The business and industrial landscape of India is undergoing a massive transformation, powered by the passion and energy of technology entrepreneurs. Traditional inefficient industries are also being swept by digital and technology disruptions. Driven by the power of the internet and smartphone base in urban and rural areas and combined with a surge in the technology talent pool in the country, industries in India are leapfrogging generations to create significant value over the next decade and beyond.
Avendus Capital's Digital & Technology practice focuses on businesses that leverage technology to facilitate increased engagement of consumers and enterprises within their ecosystems.
The firm has extensive experience working with market leaders across the digital and technology landscapes. Avendus has partnered with entrepreneurs through their growth curves and contributed in creating large economic outcomes. Our deep domain knowledge coupled with the largest and most engaged global network of investors, corporates and institutions allows us to deliver innovative solutions and stellar outcomes for our clients across our core service offerings – private equity (PE) & Venture Capital (VC) syndication and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory. The firm has successfully closed over 75 transactions worth USD 4 billion in the past few years.
Sub-Sectors in Focus
Our mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory and private equity (PE) syndication services are recognized as amongst the best in these chosen sub-sectors.
- Consumer internet and mobile businesses: e-commerce, online services, e-commerce enablers
- Payments and financial technology businesses
- Digital content & entertainment and digital advertising technology
- Enterprise software, SaaS and technology platforms
- Communication and networking technology
Led By
Karan Sharma
Executive Director and Co-head, Digital & Technology, Avendus Capital
Karan Sharma co-heads the Digital & Technology vertical for Avendus’s investment banking business and is based in Mumbai. He has over 10 years of investment banking experience and his areas of focus include consumer internet, payments, financial & enterprise-technology sectors. At Avendus, he advises Indian corporates and multinationals on private equity (PE) fund-raising and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory.
Being a pioneer in advising technology start-ups, Karan has worked with some of India’s leading digital and technology companies and has successfully closed over 30 PE and M&A advisory transactions. Prior to joining Avendus, Karan worked with Cipher Capital, a boutique investment bank. During his four-year stint with the firm, he was responsible for building the firm’s internet and technology practice. Before Cipher, he worked with JP Morgan Chase.
Karan holds an MBA degree from Mumbai University and has done his Bachelor of Commerce from Delhi University. He has authored / co-authored various industry pioneering reports and whitepapers on the Indian technology ecosystem and regularly speaks at leading industry events.
Pankaj Naik
Executive Director and Co-head, Digital & Technology, Avendus Capital
Pankaj Naik co-heads the Digital & Technology vertical for Avendus’s investment banking business and is based in Mumbai. He has over 18 years of investment banking experience across sectors including technology, media, and other diversified industries.
His areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory, private placements, leveraged finance and capital markets.
Prior to joining Avendus, Pankaj worked with JP Morgan’s investment banking team for over 11 years, where he led several marquee transactions amounting to over USD 10 billion across various industries. Before JP Morgan, he worked with DSP Merrill Lynch’s investment banking team for 4 years.
Pankaj holds an MBA degree from IIM, Calcutta and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Government College of Engineering, Pune. He is a regular speaker at leading industry events focused on internet technology.
Transactions
Reports
Digital & Technology | 2021: The Breakout Year
2020 has been the year of structural shift for the digital economy, primarily due to COVID. While the real economy suffered, digital enabled economy got a booster shot. Our annual thought paper sets our predictions for 2021 to be the break-out year for the Indian Digital and Tech ecosystem, with the momentum in the funding environment likely to accelerate – We expect US$20bn+ funding in the private markets.
D2C Brands: Disrupting the next decade of shopping
Consumption patterns in India are evolving. With rise in online shopping and spurred by the opportunity to capitalize on white spaces and a more demanding consumer, new-age brands are emerging. Eyeing a $100bn addressable market by 2025, direct-to-customer brands are set to disrupt the way India shops in the coming decade.
Indian Specialty Chemicals Industry - Biggest Beneficiary of the Global Paradigm Shift
Avendus in collaboration with FICCI, has developed this report in order to highlight the emerging opportunity for the Indian Specialty Chemicals industry, which is estimated to double in size by 2025.
Implication of Coronavirus On Technology Outsourcing M&A Deal Activity – Evolving Perspective
The second edition of our Coronavirus thought paper, tracks the pandemic’s impact on the IT outsourcing industry and associated deal activity. Given the strong bounce back in demand and valuation at pre-COVID levels we believe that the market is conducive for deal making.
MuleSoft
MuleSoft, since its acquisition by Salesforce in 2018, has experienced tremendous growth. Industry-wide MuleSoft adoption is expected to continue given that both the API management and the iPaaS (Integration Platform-as-a-Service) industries are experiencing high growth due to increased cloud adoption and connected devices.
ServiceNow
~80% of Fortune 500 companies today use ServiceNow, the leading provider in the IT service management (ITSM) space. With a strong partner network of 1,200+ and growing, the ServiceNow ecosystem is expected to further extend its foothold with global enterprises.