VLCC Health Care to acquire D2C men’s grooming brand Ustraa for Rs 61 crore

VLCC Health Care will acquire Happily Unmarried Marketing which operates D2C men’s grooming brand Ustraa via a combination of cash and stock swap for Rs 61 crore, according to an exchange filing.

Info Edge (India) said in its filing that it has agreed to sell its wholly owned stake owned by it through its wholly owned subsidiary – Startup Investments (Holding) in its associate company, Happy Unmarried Marketing.

“After the merger, VLCC will make further investments to accelerate the growth of Ustraa,” VLCC said in its press release.

The statement also stated that 67 percent of Ostra’s sales today come from the online channel. The brand has over 85 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) across fragrance, hair care, facial and beard care and has 2.2 million customers on their app. Ustraa is backed by investors including InfoEdge, 360 One (formerly IIFL Ventures), and Wipro.

“This acquisition marks VLCC’s entry into the men’s grooming market and our aim is to accelerate Ustraa’s growth journey by leveraging VLCC’s offline distribution across India. In parallel, VLCC’s existing product business will leverage Ustraa’s technical and digital expertise to further expand the age trade What’s new,” Vikas Gupta, CEO, VLCC, said in its release.

“We are optimistic about the synergies that can be achieved in this merger of VLCC-Ustraa for the platform to become a leading consumer beauty and personal care company and look forward to working closely with the management team and Carlyle post-merger,” InfoEdge’s Sanjeev Bichchandani also said in the statement.