Indian mid-market private equity firm Lighthouse Funds said Wednesday it has invested Rs 284 crore ($34.3 million) in fashion and silver jewellery brand Kushal's Retail Pvt Ltd.
The transaction includes a secondary buyout that provides a partial exit to early-growth-stage private equity fund India SME Investments.
VCCircle had reported earlier this month that Lighthouse Funds was in advanced stages of discussion to invest around Rs 300 crore into Kushal’s Retail.
Kushal's Retail marks the first investment by Lighthouse from its newly-raised fourth private equity fund, the firm said.
India SME Investments was the first institutional investor in Kushal’s Retail, which was founded in 2006 by the Gulechha family and sells its products through 75 stores across 25 cities in India and online channels. Having initially invested $5 million in 2019, India SME Investments increased its stake in 2022. At the time, it was also joined by homegrown private equity firm Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE), which injected an additional $11 million.
The Bengaluru-based omni-channel fashion jewellery retailer will use the new round of growth capital to facilitate brand building, technology enhancement, talent acquisition, and retail expansion, it said in a joint statement.
VCCircle was the first to report that Lighthouse Funds was nearing the final close of its fourth fund. With this vehicle, Lighthouse will pick up minority stakes with about Rs 250-300 crore per bet, across the consumer and healthcare sectors.
Founded in 2006 by Sachin Bhartiya, Sean Sovak and Mukund Krishnaswami, Lighthouse has closed three funds so far and has about $500 million assets under management (AUM). It has backed over 25 companies, including Fabindia, Duroflex, Wow! Momo and Tynor, across food, lifestyle, home improvement, and healthcare sectors.
