Conglomerate Reliance Industries has agreed to pay Rs 2.95bn ($41.7m) for an 87.6% stake in India-based fashion e-commerce platform Fynd, allowing internet technology provider Google to exit, the Economic Times reported on Sunday.
Reliance also has the option to invest an additional $14m in Fynd by 2021, according to a stock exchange filing cited by ET. All Fynd’s existing investors will exit while its founders will retain equity stakes.
Founded in 2012, Fynd has built an online platform that links consumers to some 600 fashion brands e-commerce businesses, taking a cut of the revenue on every sale. It also helps brands sell their goods through other e-commerce marketplaces.
The company claims that because it works directly with clothing producers, it can give customers a wider selection than other online retailers.
Fynd raised an undisclosed amount in an April 2018 series C round led by Google that included existing backers Kae Capital, IIFL, Singularity Ventures, GrowX, Tracxn Labs, Venture Catalyst, Patni and Axis Capital and unnamed private investors.
IIFL previously led a $3.4m series B round in June 2017, adding to $1m series A funding the company collected from Venture Catalysts and Rocketship the month before.