CCI nod for Titan’s additional stake-buy in CaratLane

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved acquisition of additional shareholding in CaratLane Trading Private Ltd (CaratLane) by Titan Company Ltd (Titan).

The proposed combination relates to the acquisition by Titan of 27.18 per cent share capital of CaratLane (a subsidiary of Titan), on a fully diluted basis, from Mithun Padam Sacheti, Siddhartha Padam Sacheti, and Padamchand Sacheti.

“Commission approves acquisition of additional 27.18 per cent share capital of CaratLane Trading Private Ltd by Titan Company Ltd”, said a CCI post on ‘X’, a social media platform.

In August this year, Titan had announced that it has agreed to acquire the remaining 27.18 per cent stake in its subsidiary CaratLane for ₹4,621 crore in cash. The latest transaction ascribed a valuation of ₹17,000 crore to CaratLane.

Second-largest exit

With this transaction, CaratLane’s founder Mithun Sacheti and his family have sold their stake in the company. The deal ranks as the second-largest exit for an e-commerce founder after Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal sold their stakes to Walmart.

In its regulatory filing in August, Titan had said that it was acquiring 91.90 lakh equity shares in CaratLane, following which it will hold a 98.28 per cent stake in the company. Prior to this stake-buy, Titan held 71.09 per cent of the total equity share capital of CaratLane on a fully diluted basis.

In FY23, CaratLane recorded a turnover of ₹2,177 crore, a 72 per cent jump from ₹1,267 crore it clocked in FY22. In FY21, CaratLane recorded revenues of ₹723 crore.

Titan had first invested in CaratLane in 2016, which had been in a strategic vendor relationship with Tanishq since 2010. Between 2016 and 2019, Titan bought shares of CaratLane in tranches, mainly via a secondary purchase of shares.

Titan, a public listed company, is active in several businesses through lifestyle brands including jewellery, eyecare, fragrances, fashion accessories, and Indian dress wear.

CaratLane is a private limited company engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of gems and jewellery in India.

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