Fashion retailer V-Mart Retail to acquire online marketplace LimeRoad

Fashion retailer V-Mart Retail Ltd on Monday said it will acquire online marketplace LimeRoad, in a move which will help the company expand its presence in the omni-channel space.

The company has signed a "business transfer agreement with A M Marketplaces (LimeRoad) and certain other parties for the acquisition of its LimeRoad business as a going concern on a slump sale basis," said V-Mart Retail in a regulatory filing.

Over the nature of consideration, V-Mart said: "for the acquisition of LimeRoad business, the company shall pay lump sum cash consideration of Rs 31.12 crore, which amount shall be subject to adjustments as mutually agreed between the parties."

Moreover, V-Mart is also "acquiring assets worth Rs 14.61 crore and assuming current liabilities of Rs 36.26 crore", which shall be subject to adjustments as mutually agreed between them, it added.

 

LimeRoad's net revenue in FY22 was Rs 69.31 crore.

In a statement, V-Mart said: "Given the underlying strong unit economics post marketing, V-Mart plans to invest a total of Rs 150 crore to enable LimeRoad to scale and achieve sustained profitability."

V-Mart Retail Managing Director Lalit Agarwal said with this acquisition, the company aims to not only acquire digital-first millennials but build its omni-channel expertise.

"V-Mart will operate LimeRoad as an independent business unit, retaining its tech startup culture," he said.

Moreover, V-Mart will retain the existing leadership of LimeRoad. LimeRoad's co-founder Suchi Mukherjee joins V-Mart's leadership team as CEO of LimeRoad and the omni-channel business.

While Ankush Mehra, another co-founder of LimeRoad, will continue as COO.

Presently, the women segment contributes a majority, around 65 per cent, of the LimeRoad business. It has a strong presence in the Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 value segment.