PE investors pump $315 million into Firstcry

A consortium of private equity investors - TPG, ChrysCapital and Premji Invest - has invested around $315 million in Firstcry, valuing the omnichannel children’s retailer at around $1.9-$2.1 billion, three people with direct knowledge of the deal said.The company will look to target a public market listing in 18-24 months, they said. The deal involves a $300 million secondary transaction, they added.There is also a small primary component of about $13 million from Premji Invest, regulatory filings showed. ET was the first to report about the impending transaction on January 8.“All three private equity investors have roughly brought in $100 million each,” said a person with direct knowledge of the development.The early investors in the SoftBank-backed company, such as Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), Vertex Partners and MegaDelta Capital Advisors have sold their entire stakes as part of the latest transaction.“The deal values the company at between $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion,” said another person with knowledge of the development. 81752293The current transaction has doubled the company’s valuation in less than 24 months — SoftBank Vision Fund had picked up 40% in FirstCry in 2019, valuing it at about $1.1 billion. The omnichannel retailer dedicated to baby and mother care products received $400 million in fresh equity from the Masayoshi Son-led fund as part of its Series E round.“This round helps the company consolidate its investor base ahead of the IPO that it plans over the next 18-24 months,” another person said. When contacted, Supam Maheshwari, chief executive and co-founder of Firstcry, declined to comment.Spokespersons for ChrysCapital, Premji Invest, TPG, Elevation Capital, MegaDelta and Vertex did not respond to ET’s requests for comment.Founded in September 2010, the company acquired BabyOye from Mahindra Retail in an all-stock deal worth Rs 362 crore ($50 million) in 2015. Its other investors include Mahindra Group, Valiant Capital, Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan.With more than 300 stores in 125 cities, Firstcry has expanded its user base to over 4 million customers and says it offers 200,000 baby and children’s products from 2,000 brands. It competes with Hopscotch and Kids Stop Press in the online segment.In the financial year 2020, the Pune-based company’s revenue rose 68% to Rs 897 crore, helping it cut net losses by 83% to Rs 191 crore. Expenses dropped 26% to Rs 1,088 crore, company filings show.Last year, most ecommerce operations had to significantly scale down operations in April-June due to the Covid-19 pandemic.“The company is looking to expand its presence in the Middle East and looks to set up shop in markets such as Oman and Saudi Arabia,” said a person with knowledge of the company’s plans. It is already the largest player in the segment in the UAE after setting up business there in late 2019.As per market and consumer data firm Statista, India’s apparel market is expected to grow 11% to $85 billion by 2021. The kidswear segment alone is predicted to reach nearly Rs 1.7 lakh crore by 2028.All the incoming investors in Firstcry - TPG, ChrysCapital and Premji Invest, have deep consumer and retail investment experience, having backed ventures as diverse as Nykaa, BookMyShow, W, Dream11, Lenskart, CavinKare, Myntra and Future Lifestyle Fashions.

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