Hike, an early investor in social gaming platform WinZO has exited the firm following a $12 million buyback from the platform. WinZO said that this gave Hike a four-fold return on its investment made in the company in May 2019. The buyback comes after the company raised an additional $13 million capital from its existing investors- Stephan Pagliuca, Makers Fund, and Courtside Venture.

This exit transaction, which has received a nod from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), saw WinZO buyback Hike’s share for $12 million, making it one of the largest buyback transactions by an early-stage startup in India. Hike had earlier participated in the $5 million Series-A funding in WinZO back in 2019 and has received 4X returns within a span of 18 months. Earlier this year, Hike had announced shutting down its primary messaging business and launched a conflicting gaming app Rush, similar to WinZO.

Paavan Nanda, the Co-Founder of WinZO said, “Hike’s been given a complete exit from WinZO. As Founders, we are super chuffed and humbled to have a Board that is extremely bullish, and completely aligned with the audacious goals we have set for ourselves. They had immensely supported the company through the process.” In September 2020, WinZO had raised $18 million in series B funding, taking the total funds raised to $38 million.