Tata-Owned Titan Looks To Acquire Noise To Expand Wearables Play

SUMMARY

The transaction will peg the consumer electronic maker, Noise at nearly INR 700–INR 800 Cr

With this deal, Titan plans to strengthen its presence in the growing wearable segment

According to an IDC report, homegrown brands have captured over two-thirds of the watch market with their aggressive offerings and marketing spends on digital platforms

Titan Company Limited, which is a joint venture of The Tata Group and TIDCO, is looking to invest in the Indian wearable market. The company is in discussions to buy a significant stake in the Gurugram-based wearable device startup, Noise.

With this deal, The Tata Group-led company plans to strengthen its presence in the growing wearable segment.

The transaction will peg the consumer electronic maker, Noise at nearly INR 700–INR 800 Cr. The valuation is computed by doubling Noise’s revenue of INR 400 Cr that companies in the wearable segment commonly attract, according to a report by Mint.

Founded by Amit Khatri and Gaurav Khatri in 2014, Noise began selling smartphone cases but later pivoted into smart wearables and wireless headphones.

According to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC), India’s wearable market grew by 93.8% year-over-year (YoY) in Q3 FY21 (July-Sept), shipping 23.8 Mn units. Watches continue to be the fastest-growing category with 4.3 Mn shipments in Q3, while wristbands saw a seventh consecutive quarter of annual decline.

IDC’s report further stated that homegrown brands have captured over two-thirds of the watch market with their aggressive offerings and marketing spends on digital platforms. Noise maintained its lead for the sixth straight quarter with a 26% market share in Q3, followed by boAt with a 23.1% market share.

Earlier in 2020, The Tata Group acqui-hired Hyderabad-based smart devices maker, Hug Innovations Inc to focus on the thriving wearable segment.

The Gurugram-based startup, Noise earlier hired IndigoEdge to find potential financial investors to back it up. According to a report, it was planning to raise about INR 100 Cr at a valuation of nearly INR 500 Cr in 2020.

boAt, which is planning for a INR 2000 Cr IPO, has lately acquired Singapore-based KaHa Pte Ltd (Cove IoT). boAt’s parent company Imagine Marketing inked an agreement to acquire Singapore-based KaHa Pte Ltd. With this move, boAt plans to augment its wearable products with KaHa’s concept, design, electronic firmware, algorithm development, android and iOS applications, and other features and capabilities.

Prior to this, boAt raised $100 Mn from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, the New York-based private equity firm. Besides the focus on production, the funding would be utilised for research and development (R&D) push into new device categories and other aspects. The round values the startup at $300 Mn.