TCC Concept To Acquire Pepperfry For INR 662 Cr By Year-End

BSE-listed TCC Concept’s board has approved the acquisition of a 98.98% stake in online furniture marketplace Pepperfry for about INR 661.47 Cr. According to an exchange filing, the deal will be carried out through a share swap, with TCC issuing 1.18 Cr shares at INR 557.9 each to Pepperfry’s shareholders. 

The acquisition is expected to be completed by December 15, following shareholder and regulatory approvals. With this, TCC will acquire 3.5 Cr equity shares and 30.1 Lakh preference shares of Pepperfry, giving it near-total control of the company on a fully diluted basis.

Founded in 2012 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry is one of India’s largest omnichannel furniture and home goods marketplaces, with over 150 studios across 100 cities. 

Per filing, the startup reported a turnover of INR 164.2 Cr in FY25, down 13% from INR 188.9 Cr in FY24 and a sharp 40% decline from INR 272.4 Cr turnover in FY23.

On October 14, TCC had shared plans to acquire 95.18% of Pepperfry. However, as per a corrigendum filed on October 31, the company revised the terms, increasing the stake to 98.98% and the issue size from 1.18 Cr to 1.19 Cr shares. The updated filing also raised the total deal value from INR 659.4 Cr to INR 661.5 Cr.

TCC said the move is aimed at strengthening its presence in the ecommerce and digital marketplace space and creating operational synergies between both companies.

However, the deal caps a stark decline for the Mumbai-based startup, which was once valued at $350 Mn (INR 3,100 Cr) and had been preparing for an IPO in 2023. After years of rising losses, unsold inventory, and shrinking revenue, Pepperfry’s founders had to look at a buyout option.

Overall, Pepperfry raised over $305 Mn to date from investors like Bertelsmann India, InnoVen Capital, among others. 

Now the startup joins the list of once-hyped furniture startups that met similar fates, Urban Ladder, acquired by Reliance Industries in 2020 for INR 180 Cr, and FabFurnish, which was bought by Future Group in 2016 for around INR 15 Cr.

For India’s D2C furniture market, the deal underscores a hard truth — without in-house manufacturing, price competitiveness, and sustainable margins, even the most recognisable brands can struggle to survive.

In midst of buyout options, Pepperfry was also eyeing raising about $5 Mn from its existing investors General Electric, Norwest Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs.