Titan Buys Remaining 0.36% Stake In CaratLane For INR 60 Cr

Tata-owned watchmaker Titan on Tuesday (February 27) announced the acquisition of the remaining 0.36% stake in omnichannel jewellery brand CaratLane for INR 60.08 Cr.

Prior to this, Titan owned 99.64% stake in CaratLane. Last year, the company acquired 27.18% shareholding in the startup for INR 4,621 Cr at nearly INR 17,000 Cr valuation. The proposal was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in November last year.

The new deal has also been signed at the same valuation, pegging CaratLane at the earlier valuation of INR 16,666 Cr (nearly $2 Bn).

With this, CaratLane will now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the watchmaking company. The 0.36% stake translates into 1.19 Lakh (1,19,489) shares in the jewellery brand, acquired at a face value of INR 2 each.

“As on date, CaratLane is a subsidiary of the Company wherein the Company held 99.64% of the total paid up capital of CaratLane. The completion of the aforesaid share purchase would result in CaratLane becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,” Titan said in a filing with the bourses.

The company expects the transaction to be completed by March 31. 

Founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane is an omnichannel brand that manufactures and sells jewellery items in India and the US. 

CaratLane’s turnover stood at INR 2,177 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), up from INR 1,267 Cr in FY22 and INR 723 Cr in FY21. However, its net profit dipped 8% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 82 Cr during the year under review,

It competes with the likes of established brick and mortar players such as Kalyan Jewellers, Malabar Gold, as well as new-age brands such as BlueStone and GIVA. 

It is pertinent to note that Titan first picked up a majority stake in the jewellery brand at a valuation of nearly $69 Mn in 2016. 

The Tata Group also holds startups like 1mg and BigBasket in its portfolio.