Feedback announces Internet initiative

NEW DELHI: Feedback Ventures, an investment and consulting company operating

in the areas of core and social infrastructure, has made a foray into the

Internet space by launching Feedback E-Space with an initial investment of $10

million. According to Feedback Ventures group chairman Vinayak Chatterjee,

"We shall use the funds to invest in dotcom companies in India, the US and

the Southeast Asia. We shall not only take equity stakes but will also play an

active role in the operations of these companies." The equity stakes would

be between 15-30 per cent in these companies. Feedback Ventures will also

provide online support to these companies for around 12-18 months.

According to Chatterjee, the new company would see Feedback Ventures holding

35 per cent and employees holding 15 per cent with the rest to be raised from

individuals and corporate investors in India and abroad. The company did not

reveal the names of the strategic investors saying that negotiations were in an

advanced stage and the details would be revealed soon. However, Chatterjee did

mention that among those companies, with whom talks were on, two were from

India, two were from the US, and about three companies were from the Southeast

Asia.

The mandate of the new company includes helping start-up companies to list

their stocks in Indian and overseas markets and helping them go through the

process of mergers and acquisitions. "And the biggest advantage for the

company is that it has the experience of people who have done it themselves,

i.e. going through the grind before tasting success," said Feedback E-Space

managing director OP Chaudhary.

Apart from incubating companies, Feedback also plans to play the role of a

consolidator. It is in the process of establishing an Internet exchange for the

highly fragmented trucking industry which is valued at Rs 50,000 crore. "In

the Net economy, the role of logistics cannot be ignored and this is one segment

that we are carefully nurturing," says Chatterjee. The company is also

developing exchanges for the textile and the healthcare segments besides

planning services for e-trading, e-retailing and Internet services.