Nikhil Vora sells his stake in One97 Communications to Alibaba for Rs 150cr

Nikhil Vora, an early investor in One97 Communications has sold his entire stake in Paytm's parent company to Alibaba and earned around Rs 150 crore on his six-year-old investment, reports ET.

Former IDFC Securities star equity analyst sold his 0.35 percent stake or 1,60,000 shares of One97 Communications for returns that are 75 times his initial investment. However, Vora continues to hold shares in Paytm e-commerce, which was demerged from One97 Communications this year.

Vora’s equity sale to Alibaba was part of a larger secondary share sale round which included investors such as Saama Capital, Sapphire Ventures, and Reliance Capital also selling their One97 shares to Alibaba and its affiliate, Alipay. Apparently, Vora was earlier in discussions to sell his stake to Hero Corporate Services chairman Sunil Munjal and Adventz Group chairman Saroj Poddar.

Vora, who runs investment firm Sixth Sense Ventures, now plans to launch a second venture fund. "Six companies in our portfolio have already seen a new round at a higher valuation," Vora told ET.

The firm's other investments include luxury watches retail chain operator Ethos and Cross Roads India Assistance, which provides roadside assistance for cars and two-wheelers. Notably, Vora has also been an active personal investor in privately held companies over the last decade.