ADIA picks up Purplle's shares from JSW Ventures in secondary transaction
Beauty products platform Purplle has raised around $40-$50 million in a flat round which was split as a primary and a secondary one, people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol. The capital infusion comes at a time when the e-commerce industry has slowed down, after steep growth during the Covid years, which has forced an increasing number of online-only startups, especially the direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies, to look at an omnichannel play and other strategies to sustain growth.
While South Korea’s Paramark Ventures infused a part of the $33 million committed to Purplle last year in a primary round, JSW Venture has partially exited in the company and sold stake to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
A small part of Paramark Ventures $33 million commitment to Purplle came now, in what was understood to be an extension of the previous round that materialized in June last year, which sent Purplle into the coveted list of unicorns.
“The round closed at least a couple of months ago. While Paramark has put in some cash as part of its commitment last year, ADIA has picked up Purplle’s shares from JSW Ventures through a secondary round,” one of the people cited above said.
Flat rounds and down rounds are gaining prominence in an environment where capital has become difficult to access for several startups. Investors have also backed flat rounds or down roundsbecause sky-high valuations do not hold true anymore.
Including the latest round, Purplle has raised around $450 million from Premji Invest, Blume Ventures, homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital, Goldman Sachs, JSW Ventures and several others.
The company will use this capital to expand its offline footprint by opening more stores and also strengthen its online presence, as an increasing number of direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies look at an omnichannel strategy to drive growth.
