Waycool asks for more time to repay debt as it looks to turn a profit

livemint.com:

BENGALURU : Waycool Foods and Products Pvt. Ltd has sought short-term relief on repayments to its debt lenders, marking a turn of fortunes for a company that was in the race to be India's first agritech unicorn. The move comes shortly after the company raised $30 million through convertible notes in an internal funding round, with most of its existing investors participating, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.

The company owes nearly ₹100 crore to lenders, one of them said. In 2022, Waycool had raised about ₹95 crore through a combination of debt and equity from venture-debt firm Trifecta Capital, according to an Entrackr report. The company also raised ₹195 crore to ₹200 crore from venture-debt firm Alteria Capital.

Waycool has been regular with repayments, but the startup is now requesting an extension of approximately one year on its repayment schedule as it aims to achieve profitability within the next few months, one of the people cited above said, adding that the recent funding round is expected to significantly mitigate the company's liquidity challenges. Waycool has already repaid the majority of the principal loan amount and intends to clear the remaining debt at a higher interest rate, this person said. Alteria Capital and Trifecta Capital were not immediately available for comments.

“The company is close to Ebitda profitability, having reduced its Ebitda burn by 80% in the past year. Our fresh business turned profitable in March 2024 and other businesses will turn profitable in the next few months." Waycool said in a statement to Mint. "Our lenders have been very supportive of the effort [and] have extended our repayment tenure.