According to two people familiar with the issue, Singaporean state investor Temasek Holdings is considering investing $100 million in Indian jewelers BlueStone for a 20% share.
One of the people, who did not want to be identified because the transaction is private, stated that the investment would value Bengaluru-based BlueStone, which is funded by Accel and Indian entrepreneur Ratan Tata, at over $500 million.
As demand for jewelry rises in the aftermath of the outbreak, the planned purchase might offer a big boost to BlueStone in India, the world’s second-largest consumer market.
The jeweler has previously indicated their intention to open 300 stores by 2024. It presently has over 150 locations, according to its website.
BlueStone competes for clients with thousands of small and large local individual jewelers, as well as chain stores like Tanishq, CaratLane, and Kalyan Jewellers (all owned by the Titan Company).
BlueStone and CaratLane are two of the many online jewelers accessible today.
According to one of the sources, Temasek is now doing due diligence on the acquisition, and a deal may be concluded as soon as July-September if discussions go smoothly.
Temasek’s India head, Ravi Lambah, told the Economic Times last month that the business has invested $1 billion a year in India for the last six years, and that Temasek’s underlying exposure to India is $16 billion, or more than 5% of Temasek’s global portfolio of $297 billion.
Many Indian companies have been having difficulty obtaining additional funds, postponing IPOs, and laying off employees as investors question their exorbitant valuations, which coincides with the date of the acquisition conversations. According to CB Insights, startup financing fell 75% year on year in Q1 2023, to $2 billion.
