“I asked my wife about it (Mamaearth) and she said that while looking up on a moms’ group on Facebook, many moms recommended this in the comments section. At least 18 of the 20. So, I thought we need to talk to them,” Bahl said while speaking at the ET Soonicorns Summit 2023 in New Delhi.
“My colleague called the number at the back of a shampoo bottle and Varun (Alagh) picked up,” Bahl said.
A meeting was set up post which they instantly decided to invest, Bahl said.
“We met him a day or so after (the call), and after the meeting we thought we had to invest. The sparkle in his eye was special.”
“The story started a while back. What they (Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh) have built is so inspiring for this entire ecosystem. They did not come from any IIT or IIM gang or startup group. They were not any senior leaders or CXOs in a large company. The built the company over 6-7 years, are profitable now and are loved by their consumers,” Bahl added.
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Bahl, along with his Snapdeal cofounder Rohit Bansal pumped in an investment of 38 lakh back in 2017, and are poised to make a 100x return with the IPO, ET reported on October 31. Bahl and Bahnsal were among the two sharks who had acquired stakes in the digital-first beauty and personal care company at an average cost price of just Rs 3.21 per share in August 2017. At the upper price band of Rs 324, the duo stands to make an astounding profit of Rs 38.27 crore translating into a return of 9,993%.The initial public offering (IPO) of Honasa Consumer, the parent of personal care brand Mamaearth, closed on Thursday, with the issue getting subscribed 7.61 times, courtesy of a big push from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) on the final day.
QIBs put in bids for 11.5 times the shares reserved for the category. The retail portion was subscribed 1.35 times.
The company has reserved 75% of the issue size for QIBs and 15% for high-net-worth individuals, while 10% has been earmarked for retail investors. It has also kept shares worth Rs 1 crore for its employees, and that portion was subscribed 4.87 times.
The IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 365 crore and an offer for sale of up to Rs 1,336 crore by existing shareholders at a price band of Rs 308-324 a share.