Third Wave brews $100 mn round led by existing backers

Third Wave Coffee, a Bengaluru-based café chain, is close to raising $80-100 million in a funding round led by existing backers WestBridge Capital and Creaegis, three people familiar with the matter said.

- Priyamvada C. & Snehadri Sarkar

The round is undergoing documentation and is expected to close in the next couple of weeks, one of the people cited above said.

“It will be a mix of primary and secondary share sale. Existing backers will double down on their investment with Westbridge putting in the larger cheque size,” a second person said.

While the transaction is largely an internal round, it is likely to take place at a higher valuation of $400-500 million, driven by improved operating performance over the last two years and a narrowing of losses, a third person said. The primary capital will be used to fund expansion plans. The company was valued at around $155 million as of late 2023, according to Tracxn data.

All the people spoke on the condition of anonymity as the discussions are still private. Third Wave and Creaegis did not respond till the time of publishing. Westbridge declined to comment.