India's Quikr buys VC-backed StayGlad
Indian classifieds site Quikr has bought StayGlad, an online marketplace for beauty services backed by Bessemer Venture Partners.
StayGlad will be integrated into AtHomeDiva, a beauty service brand that Quikr operates under its broader services vertical QuikrServices. Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed, although Livemint reported that the purchase valued StayGlad at less than INR500 million ($7.5 million).
Quikr has been pursuing an active acquisition strategy this year: in January it purchased property search site CommonFloor, planning to integrate the business into its real estate arm QuikrHomes; in July it bought online hiring platform Hiree, which will operate under QuikrJobs. CommonFloor had raised capital from Accel Partners, Tiger Global - which also led a $150 million round for Quikr last April and a $60 million round in 2014 - and Google Capital, while Hiree was backed by IDG Ventures.
"StayGlad is one of the largest and highest quality players in beauty services with a 70% customer repeat rate, which makes them a great fit for our overall vision for AtHomeDiva - we are excited to bring them on board," said PD Sundar, head of QuikrServices, in a release.
Bessemer participated in StayGlad's Series A round last year; AVCJ Research shows the firm committed an undisclosed amount of capital alongside Anil Chopra, former CEO of cosmetics company Lakme Lever. StayGlad was founded in May 2015 and employs 100 people, all of whom will join Quikr.
Quikr claims to be India's largest and broadest classifieds platform, with more than 30 million unique users per month and a presence in several sectors including e-commerce, education, homes, jobs and services. It has a number of venture backers, including Sweden's AB Kinnevik, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global. Last month Brand Capital, an investment arm of India's Times Group, joined in, investing INR1.3 billion.
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