TechStyle, the US-based online fashion company incubated by US-based e-commerce holding company Intelligent Beauty, has employed investment bank JPMorgan Chase to find it a buyer, Reuters reported yesterday.
A prospective acquisition would value the company, which is also backed by media group ProSiebenSat.1, at about $1.5bn including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Launched in 2010 by Intelligent Beauty, TechStyle initially focused on fashion subscription platform JustFab but has grown to oversee several brands including curated footwear sales platform ShoeDazzle and Fabletics, the activewear producer co-founded by actress Kate Hudson.
The company’s fastest growing brand, Fabletics, is in the process of expanding its range of brick-and-mortar stores from 18 to 30 across the US.
TechStyle has raised approximately $250m in funding, having closed an $85m round in 2014 that was led by Passport Speciality Opportunity Fund, a subsidiary of hedge fund Passport Capital, and which valued it at $1bn.
Intelligent Beauty took part in a $76m series B round for the company in 2012 alongside Rho Ventures, which led the round, Matrix Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).
All four returned for a round led by Shining Capital Management that closed at $55m in late 2013. TCV and Matrix had first invested as part of a $33m series A round in 2011.
SevenVentures, the corporate venturing arm of ProSiebenSat.1, is also a shareholder having reportedly invested an undisclosed amount in TechStyle in mid-2015.