Bluestone In Talks To Raise INR 830 Cr In Pre-IPO Funding: Report

Omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone is currently in negotiations to secure an investment of approximately INR 830 Cr ($100 Mn) from Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital and Think Investments.

In its pre-IPO (initial public offering) funding round, Bluestone plans a combination of share sales by early investors and fresh capital infusion, which is anticipated to value the omnichannel retailer at around INR 7,500 Cr ($900 Mn) pre-money, ET reported.

Peak XV is set to invest around INR 415 Cr ($50 Mn) in Bluestone.

The round consists of a mix of primary and secondary transactions. Additionally, some family offices, through special purpose vehicles, may participate in the funding, which is expected to close in the coming days.

The latest round values Bluestone at more than double its valuation from the last funding round in September 2023. At that time, the company raised capital from investors, including Manipal Group chief Ranjan Pai, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, at a $450 Mn valuation.

Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, Bluestone is an omnichannel jewellery startup that claims to offer more than 8,000 designs across rings, pendants, earrings and other products. In 2022, the startup elevated its chief operating officer Sudeep Nagar as the cofounder.

Inc42 earlier reported that BlueStone was looking to raise $16.5 Mn in a mix of equity and debt from a clutch of investors such Innoven Capital, Ashwin Kedia and Sankar Bora among others.

Prior to that, BlueStone was planning to raise $9 Mn in debt funding from Trifecta Capital.

The company reported a 1.6X jump in revenue from its operations in FY23 to INR 770.7 Cr, as compared to INR 461.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup’s loss plunged 86% to INR 167.2 Cr from INR 1,268.4 Cr in FY22.

It is to be noted that the Indian jewellery industry generated revenues of nearly $77 Bn in 2023, surpassing markets in China, the US, Japan and Russia.

In March, D2C jewellery brand Kushal’s raised INR 284 Cr in its Series B funding round from Lighthouse’s fourth alternative investment fund.

Meanwhile, silver jewellery startup Giva secured $35 Mn in a Series B funding round led by Premji Invest last year.