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Roll-up e-commerce start-up GlobalBees is in talks to raise fresh capital in the range of over $100 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion in a round led by FirstCry, people aware of the development told BusinessLine . SoftBank, Lightspeed India, ChrysCapital, PremjiInvest among other existing investors might also be seen participating in the round.
The round will likely see Japanese investment firm SoftBank make its first direct investment of around $15 million in a Thrasio-like start-up in India. Separately, SoftBank has been an active investor in FirstCry, having a stake of approximately 36-40 per cent.
“FirstCry which owns a stake of around 51 per cent in GlobalBees, will be investing nearly $50 million in the latest round,” said one of the sources.
The deal is still being negotiated, and the final numbers could differ a bit, the source added.
Founded by Nitin Agarwal, a former Senior Executive of Edelweiss Financial Services and Supam Maheshwari, Co-founder and CEO of FirstCry, GlobalBees has been acquiring online first brands and companies with a revenue of $1-20 million across personal care, health and beauty, sport supplements, eyewear, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), home organisation and lifestyle segments among others. It already has eight brands in its portfolio including The Better Home, andMe, Prolixr, Absorbia, Yellow Chimes and recently announced Healthyhey, Rey Naturals and Intellilens.
“Over the next one year, GlobalBees plans to build a portfolio of companies with an overall turnover of $100-150 million through this portfolio,” the source said.
When contacted a spokesperson for GlobalBees declined to comment on the numbers, saying in a statement: “The information shared by you is factually incorrect. As and when we have a new development, we will reach out to you.”
Earlier in July, three months into its launch, GlobalBees had raised $150 million in Series A round led by FirstCry and the other existing investors including Chiratae Ventures. The round was a mix of $75 million in debt and $75 million in equity funding.
Separate emails sent to all the above-mentioned investors seeking comments went unanswered at the time of publishing.
Valuation race
In November, GlobalBees’ peer Mensa Brands became the fastest unicorn after raising $135 million in Series B round at a valuation of over a billion dollars within six months of its launch. The round was led by Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Ventures and saw existing investors Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management and Prosus Ventures (Naspers) also participate in the round.
For most start-ups working in a house of brands or roll-up business model, fund raising have been happening through a mix of debt and equity. Mensa Brands, too, has raised $300 million in total till date in debt and equity. On Monday, it announced the acquisition of home décor brand Folkulture.
In a previous report, BusinessLine had reported that Lenskart’s founder Peeyush Bansal is looking to launch its house of brands for eyewear, tentatively to be named Lenskart Labs at a valuation of over a billion dollars.
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