WestBridge leads Rs 1,100cr round in Fogg maker Vini

MUMBAI: In the largest private investment deal in the domestic consumer goods industry, Vini Cosmetics — the maker of

Fogg

deodorant — has mopped up close to Rs 1,100 crore as serial entrepreneur

Darshan Patel

looks to build an

FMCG

company that traverses categories riding on the India consumption story. The new financing round in Vini is led by India-focused investment fund

WestBridge

Capital, as TOI had reported first in its July 15 edition, valuing the Ahmedabad-based firm at around Rs 4,000 crore.

A mix of primary and secondary capital, the deal gives Vini’s early investor Bay Capital Rs 500 crore as it exits the company, clocking an impressive 15X return having put Rs 30 crore back in 2011.The rest of the capital through the secondary transaction is going to the promoter group with around Rs 200 crore being ploughed into the company directly. Existing investor

Sequoia Capital

, which owns around 17% in Vini, also participated in the latest round with Rs 200 crore. The 54-year-old Patel, who co-founded Vini Cosmetics along with his younger brother Dipam Patel, will also bring Soothe Healthcare, a feminine hygiene startup that manufactures Paree sanitary napkins, under the fold of the consumer goods firm.

The promoter family owns 60% stake in the Noida-based Soothe, which has badminton player Saina Nehwal as its brand ambassador and investor. Patel told TOI that Vini will use the Rs 200 crore of primary capital to strengthen the skincare and haircare categories and may consider inorganic growth through acquisitions with long-term investors on board. For the FMCG company, Fogg as a brand contributes more than 80% of the Rs 700-crore revenue, one of the reasons Patel is looking to diversify into segments with its other brands like White Tone (face powder) and Glam Up (powder cream). Vini racked up Rs 90 crore in profits. WestBridge Capital MD

Sandeep Singhal

said that Vini has created in Fogg a dominating product and brand in a market that has historically been the domain of MNCs. “This is just the beginning and we feel that the founders will reproduce Fogg’s success in several new areas,” he said.