TA Associates invests $140m in India's TCNS Clothing

According to a statement, TA is acquiring a minority stake as a result of the deal. This holding is believed to include an approximately 20% interest previously controlled by Matrix Partners, which invested INR600 million ($9 million) in the company's first institutional round in 2011.

TCNS supplies traditional Indian garments in modernized fashions to women aged 25 to 40. It markets three brands - W, Aurelia and Wishful - across 300 exclusive brick-and-mortar shops in 100 cities. It also maintains a presence in multi-brand retail outlets and online portals. Sales were reported at more than $120 million for the 2016 financial year, representing 70% year-on-year growth. Recent expansion has included exclusive store openings in Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

The company is expected to use the fresh capital to further expand into additional international markets, promote organic growth and pursue the acquisition of additional womenswear brands. It intends to leverage a dominant position among branded womenswear players in India to exploit an expected consolidation of the market over the next five years.

"The women's ethnic apparel market in India is largely unorganized and is undergoing a shift towards organized and branded," said Naresh Patwari, a director at TA's Mumbai office who will join the TCNS board alongside Naveen Wadhera, TA's co-head of Asia operations. "As the leader in branded women's apparel, TCNS Clothing is driving this shift and providing the Indian consumer with a differentiated product and value proposition across its multiple apparel brands."

The value of the Indian women's apparel market is predicted to increase from $13 billion in 2015 to $20 billion in 2020, according to TCNS's financial advisor Avendus Capital. The branded portion of this market amounted to about 17% in 2015, and is expected to surpass 38% over the next 10 years.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in the US, TA claims to have made more than 460 investments worth some $17 billion. Core focus sectors include the business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare and technology industries.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Expansion
• India
• TA Associates
• manufacturing
• Sri Lanka
• e-commerce