Titan buys 62% stake in e-tailer Caratlane

BENGALURU: Titan Company , part of the salt-to steel conglomerate Tata Group, is investing Rs 357 crore for a 62% stake in online jewellery retailer Caratlane, it said in a filing to the BSE. The announcement, which was first made in May but without giving details, values Caratlane at Rs 575 crore. At the time, Titan, which makes watches and jewellery under the Tanishq brand, said it had picked up a majority stake in the Chennai-based company.

Titan would be acquiring 19,142,545 shares, the filing said.Over the past few months, this is the second such deal where a brick-and-mortar retail player has invested in an e-commerce firm. In April, Kishore Biyaniled Future Group had bought out cash-strapped online furniture retailer Fabfurnish, which was backed by Germany's Rocket Internet.


Started in 2008 by Mithun Sancheti, whose family is in the jewellery business, Caratlane has raised about $50 million from Tiger Global Management. For Tiger, Titan's majority stake acquisition essentially means it has recovered the capital it had ploughed in the company with a tiny profit. According to VCCEdge data, Tiger had infused about Rs 302 crore ($52.22 million) since 2011 to buy 19.14 million shares of Caratlane.