The Accel-backed firm is now set to file the draft red herring prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO) with the stock market regulator this calendar year, after having closed the pre-IPO round to set the valuation benchmark, one of the persons said.
Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments and Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family investment office Pratithi Investments participated in the primary-plus-secondary share sale.
“Of the total funding round, Rs 600 crore is in primary capital infusion while the rest is in secondary share sale,” one of the sources said. “Prosus has put in about Rs 350 crore while Peak and Steadview have invested over Rs 200 crore each.”
ETtechKalaari Capital – one of the early investors in the Bengaluru-based firm – has earned about Rs 300 crore by selling a part of its stake. “Yes, Kalaari has made a partial exit by selling about half of its stake,” a person aware of the matter said.
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ET first reported about Bluestone’s around $100-million pre-IPO round on May 29, and subsequently wrote about the details of the transaction on June 18.
As per Tracxn, Kalaari Capital – led by Vani Kola – held about 12.3% stake in Bluestone after the last funding round in September 2023. Iron Pillar, Saama Capital, RB Investments, IvyCap and InfoEdge Ventures are among other investors in the firm, holding about 20% collectively. Founders Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Ganesh Krishnan own nearly 14%.
Kushwaha and Kola declined to comment on the funding.
In a secondary share sale, money exchanges hands between two investors and does not go to the company coffers, unlike in primary share sale.
“This round was largely to set the pre-IPO pricing,” one of the people mentioned above said. “They (Bluestone) want to go public as soon as possible and have been working on the matter for past quarters, interacting with public market investors.”
ETtechAfter Titan bought out Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti last year, omnichannel jewellery platforms have seen massive investor interest. Silver jewellery maker Giva is raising another round while a lab-grown diamond maker is in talks for an early-stage funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Fireside Ventures, sources said. Melorra is another venture-backed startup in the space.
“Yes, there were multiple bids at various pricing but this is a significant jump in pricing in about a year,” one of the investors in Bluestone said, requesting anonymity. “People are understanding the business more clearly now following the Caratlane deal,” the investor said.
This also marks another instance of Peak XV making another bet in consumer retail space after luggage maker Mokobara and fashion brand Lyskraft. It is also close to investing in healthy bread maker The Health Factory, ET had reported on August 7.
Aggressive expansion
Bluestone will use the new capital to fuel an aggressive expansion plan underway, sources said. It has around 220 offline stores now and plans to increase the number to 400 in 12-18 months.
“The idea is to go even deeper and expand wider with more stores,” a person in the know said.
Bluestone is estimated to have closed FY24 with Rs 1,200 crore of revenue and Rs 3 crore Ebitda, ET had reported in June. “They are going to be fairly Ebitda profitable in this fiscal too,” another person who knows the details said.
Founded in 2011, Bluestone reported Rs 788 crore in operating revenue for FY23, up from Rs 477 crore a year earlier, and brought down its losses to Rs 167 crore from Rs 1,268 crore. The steep loss in FY22 was due to an accounting change. In FY22, it grew nearly 90% after a flat year of growth in FY21.
ET reported on February 15 that Bluestone is planning a Rs 2,000-crore IPO this year and has started engaging with merchant bankers. Kushwaha has been engaging with private and public market investors over the past several weeks.