Internet company Info Edge has increased its majority stake in Canvera, an online photography services start-up, from 57% to 62.22%. The investment is to the tune of ₹8.6 crore, according to a stock-exchange filing with the BSE. The Bengaluru-based company is a step-down subsidiary of Info Edge, thus making it a related party. The transaction was declared to be at "arm's length", with Info Edge having no interest in the investment. It bought 7,77,419 preferential shares in Canvera at ₹111.48 a share. The overall stake of Info Edge will be on a "fully converted and diluted" basis. Founded in 2008 by IIT Mumbai alums Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai as an online photo-book company, the company entered the e-commerce domain in 2012. However, both founders have now quit the company. While Kacker is the GM of Photos at Amazon, Rai is the vice president of engineering at San Francisco-based online security firm Vera. Ranjit Yadav, the former president of the passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors, was appointed as the CEO in 2015. He is now their managing director. Past investments In 2008, it raised an undisclosed amount from Footprint Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mumbai Angels, and a couple of angle investors. However, Info Edge has repeatedly invested small amounts in the company since 2012. Initially, Canvera received a funding of ₹35 crores in 2012. Two years later, it invested ₹4.5 crores, consolidating their share to 26%. An injection of ₹1.5 crore allowed for an exit for some investors in 2014, while increasing its investment to ₹43.5 crores.…
