Prior to this transaction, CaratLane was a 72.3% subsidiary of Titan and is considered its most valuable arm by analysts. The residual 27.8% was held by the three founders as well as employees, which the Titan has bought now. Post this acquisition, Titan would further increase its stake in CaratLane to 98.28%, making CaratLane as a fully-owned subsidiary of Titan.
This deal is said to be the second biggest exit for a founder in India’s e-commerce space after Flipkart, in which founders Sachin and Binny Bansal had sold their stakes to Walmart.
Titan first invested in CaratLane in 2016 and in May 2016 Titan acquired majority stake in the online jewellery store.
Founded by Srinivasa Gopalan and Mithun Sacheti, who hails from a family involved in the jewellery business, Carat Lane raised $58 million in four rounds, according to start-up database Crunchbase.
In over the past eight years, Titan, in partnership with Tanishq, has grown at a rapid pace. In the last three fiscal years, its sales has grown at a CAGR of 74%.
Titan is a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).
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