Brainbees Solutions, the India-based operator of childcare products e-commerce platform FirstCry, has secured $34m in funding from investors including conglomerate Mahindra Group, the Economic Times reported on Monday.
IDG Ventures India, an investment affiliate of media firm International Data Group, also contributed to the round, as did Vertex Ventures, SAIF Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Valiant Capital, Adveq and Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of IT services company Infosys.
FirstCry concurrently agreed to acquire the franchise business of baby products retailer BabyOye from Mahindra subsidiary Mahindra Retail for Rs3.6bn ($54m). Brainbee issued $52.5m worth of shares and paid the rest in cash for the franchise.
As part of the deal, Mahindra Retail will shut down BabyOye’s e-commerce platform, but will continue to run non-franchise brick-and-mortar stores under the brand.
Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, president of the conglomerate’s private equity division Mahindra Partners, will join the board of FirstCry.
The acquisition and funding is set to help FirstCry move towards profitability as it seeks to attract more brands to its platform and expand internationally. The company is also considering additional acquisitions in sectors such as digital media and kidswear.
FirstCry had previously raised about $69m, most recently securing $36m in an April 2015 series D round backed by IDG Ventures India, Valiant, NEA, Vertex and SAIF. The company was said in August 2016 to be seeking $75m in funding, however that news has yet to be confirmed.
Supam Maheshwari, chief executive of Brainbees, said: “With this transaction, our true omnichannel potential will evolve as we will have a significant network to take the orders online and get them delivered or picked up from stores.”