Celebrity fashion firm Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd has secured $13.5 million (Rs 100 crore) in a Series E round of funding led by existing investor Accel Partners.
The Sachin Tendulkar-backed company raised the money at a post-money valuation of $160 million, a press statement said.
The funding round also saw participation from venture debt firm Alteria Capital Advisors, which made an equity investment of $1 million in the company.
Universal Sportsbiz will use the funds to accelerate growth and spread its offline retail network across key markets in the country.
The company plans to enhance its presence across its portfolio of fashion brands, which that include Wrogn, Imara and Ms.Taken, to more than 1,300 stores across India in next two years. It currently has presence in 305 stores.
“The company has added tremendous value through its differentiated brands and as it moves forward to accelerate growth, we are excited to strengthen our partnership with them” said Mahendran Balachandran, partner at Accel.
said Vinod Murali, co-founder and managing partner of Alteria Capital, said the company has a “deep understanding of the Indian consumer's needs and collaborates well with celebrities” to accelerate growth.
In March, Universal Sportsbiz had raised Rs 30 crore ($4.6 million) in debt-funding from Alteria Capital.
Last November, it had raised $15 million (Rs 100 crore) from Accel Partners at a post-money valuation of over $100 million.
Universal Sportsbiz was founded by Anjana Reddy in April 2012. Its portfolio of brands include Wrogn, a premier fashion brand inspired by Virat Kohli; Jacqueline Fernandez’s Imara, a contemporary women’s ethnic fashion brand; and Ms.Taken, a signature western wear line curated by actress Kriti Sanon.
