India's Reliance buys VC-backed Clovia
Clovia, an India-based lingerie and sleepwear retailer backed by several VC investors, has been acquired by Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) at an approximate valuation of USD 140m.
RRVL, the holding entity for all retail assets under domestic conglomerate Reliance Industries, will pay USD 125m for 89% of Clovia, according to a statement. The transaction comprises a combination of primary and secondary shares. The founding team will continue to manage the business.
IvyCap Ventures was the first investor in Clovia – also known as Purple Panda Fashions – in 2015, AVCJ Research’s records show. The VC firm, currently in the market with its third fund, previously told AVCJ that it expected to generate a 10x return on the investment.
Clovia raised three subsequent rounds: USD 4m from Singularity Ventures and Ravi Dhariwal, former CEO of Bennett Coleman & Co, in 2017; USD 10m from IvyCap and AT Capital in 2019, of which IvyCap’s commitment was around USD 3m; and USD 4m in 2020 – described as a pre-Series C round – led by Golden Birch Investments and SheCapital Venture Fund.
Launched in 2013 by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant, Suman Choudhury, Soumya Kant, and Abhay Batra, Clovia claims to be India’s leading bridge-to-premium brand in the direct-to-consumer space. It offers more than 3,500 product lines across innerwear and loungewear, primarily targeting millennial women. Products are designed in-house and manufacturing is outsourced.
“Through this partnership, we will benefit from Reliance's scale and retail expertise, extending the presence of the brand and bring together stronger value proposition through world-class quality, design and fashion in the intimate wear category,” said Vermani, who serves as the company’s CEO.
Reliance Retail operates India’s largest brick-and-mortar retail network with 12,000 points of sale nationwide, including neighbourhood stores, supermarkets, wholesale outlets, speciality retailers, and online stores. It raised USD 6.4bn from investors in 2020 to support a “new commerce” strategy.
Reliance Retail wants to drive supply-side digitisation, helping small merchants apply technology to retail processes and supply chains. Meanwhile, Jio Platforms – a Reliance holding company for a range of apps, some nascent broadband and cable services, and India’s leading mobile carrier – is targeting the demand side with an online-to-offline network addressing e-commerce needs.
RRVL has made numerous acquisitions in recent years to bulk up its product offering, including lingerie brands Zivame and Amante. Last year, it bought a majority interest in design house Rita Kumur, facilitating an exit for Everstone Group.
BDA Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Clovia, while Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas served as legal counsel and Deloitte provided due diligence support.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.