Info Edge wrote off Bijnis months after 4B — its first net loss in six years

Info Edge, the largest shareholder in Bizcrum Infotech — the holding firm of Indian B2B startup Bijnis — wrote off its entire investment in May 2023, citing 'principles of conservatism and prudence'. The listed investor had put about $9.3 million into the New Delhi company, which raised more than $43 million from backers including Sequoia India, Matrix Partners India, Waterbridge and Westbridge. The Series B-stage startup, whose last round was disclosed in September 2021, aimed to be the 'operating system for factories' connecting plants, suppliers and buyers.

The stated grounds: continuing cash burn and 'limited availability of cash in proportion to unspecified liabilities with respect to buyback obligations (including liquidation preference) towards investors'. Info Edge Ventures principal Rishabh Katiyar called it 'a technical write-off' over contingent liabilities that would crystallise only if Bijnis could not deliver investors an exit via sale or listing by a specified date and they exercised the buyback right. 'This is not a reflection on the company's financial performance, the market opportunity and the value proposition', he said.

The announcement followed by days Info Edge disclosing a $33.4 million loss on 4B Networks, the proptech founded by Housing.com's Rahul Yadav in which it held 57%. The two write-offs together produced an overall loss of $8.4 million for the financial year ending March 2023 — a sharp departure from the $1.55 billion profit posted the year before, and, as The Arc pointed out, Info Edge's first net loss in six years.

Info Edge wrote off its entire ~$9.3M Bijnis investment; combined with the 4B Networks write-off it swung to an $8.4M net loss in FY23 — its first in six years.

Bijnis was still burning cash with no round closed since September 2021, just as the funding market for Indian startups turned.

Buyback obligations and liquidation preferences in the shareholders agreement could force payouts the company could not fund.

IndAS accounting conservatism required provisioning for the contingent liability rather than waiting to see if it materialised.

The write-off fit a broader drastic market correction across the South Asian ecosystem as the global economy weakened.

A write-off framed as 'technical' still lands: buyback obligations that only trigger in bad scenarios are exactly what materialises when growth funding dries up.

Info Edge said it would 'continue to evaluate the position and work with the other shareholders to remedy the situation'. Coming on top of the 4B Networks disclosure, the Bijnis write-off pushed the group to its first annual net loss in six years, converting what the investor called a technical accounting step into a very visible marker of the funding winter.