Global private equity investor Advent International said on Friday it has acquired women’s innerwear maker Enamor from its founders and two PE firms for Rs 320 crore ($45 million).
The announcement comes less than a month after VCCircle first reported that Advent was in advanced talks to buy Enamor.
Advent said in a statement this is its eighth investment in India over the past four years and its fourth in the consumer goods sector during the same period.
The deal involves Advent buying out PE firms India Alternatives and Faering Capital, which had invested in Enamor seven years ago and picked up a total of 47% stake in the company.
Vinod Padikkal, director at Advent, said Enamor has the potential for significant growth and a strong management team.
Enamor CEO Shekhar Tewari said that as lingerie sales and disposable incomes increase, the company is strongly positioned to benefit from these trends.
The innerwear company, which is operated by Gokaldas Intimatewear Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2001 as a joint venture with French brand Barbara. The firm offers a high-quality range of lingerie, sportswear and a leisure wear.
Besides having online operations, the company has 20 exclusive brand outlets and over 4,500 points-of-sale across India.
Advent International began its India operations in 2007, opening an office in Mumbai in 2009. The firm says it has deployed over $1 billion in 10 companies that have their operations in India across a diverse range of sectors, including consumer products, financial services and healthcare.
The PE firm acquired a majority stake in Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd in July 2017. Last month, it inked a pact to buy a controlling stake in snacks maker DFM Foods Ltd from its founders and homegrown PE investor WestBridge Capital. It also agreed to invest Rs 1,000 crore in non-bank lender Aditya Birla Capital Ltd last month.
The deals with Aditya Birla Capital and DFM came shortly after the PE firm raised $17.5 billion for its ninth global fund in June. At the time, Shweta Jalan, a managing director at Advent and head of India business, said the fundraising increased the amount of capital that might be deployed in India.
