Beauty and
wellness brand VLCC is in the advanced stage of acquiring at least two
companies, including a nutraceuticals company, in the near future. The company
is looking at relaunching its IPO this year, which it delayed last year owing
to market sentiments.
"We are in
talks with three companies for acquisition and at least two of them are in
(the) advanced stage," said Vandana Luthra, founder of VLCC. One of the
acquisitions would result in the company's foray into the nutraceuticals
business. Talks are on to acquire companies which have a presence in Wellness Services. It also has the acquisition of an
international wellness company in its radar.
The
acquisitions are meant to expand its portfolio and geographical foot print. It
is expecting all the acquisitions to be completed by March, 2018. Luthra
refused to share any estimation on the acquisition size, claiming
confidentiality.
The company
would be looking at going for an IPO before the end of 2017. It may be noted
that last year the company had filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to
raise a total of around Rs 600 crore through an IPO. However, the IPO was not
executed since the company felt that the market sentiments were not good. It
will refile the DRHP soon and will go for an IPO in the later part of the year.
It had acquired
Singapore-based Giving in 2013, which brought in a research and development and
manufacturing facility for the company overseas. In 2012, it acquired a
majority stake in a Malaysian slimming and beauty chain Wynn International, as
part of its international expansion. In India, it has a manufacturing facility
in Dehradun.
The company is
in the process of setting up another facility in Assam. The new facility will
manufacture hair-care and other major products it offers to around 2 lakh
retail stores across the country, apart from direct distribution to Beauty
Parlors and salons across the country.
The new
facility will come up in Matia, Goal Para district in Assam, with an investment
of around Rs 28 crore in the unit. The unit is set over an area of 100,000
square ft. with the capacity to produce 86.41 million units. The facility will
be ready in three months.
It is also
increasing the number of wellness centres across the country, adding 100 more
centres to the existing roster of 330 centres in 150 cities. It has a presence
in 13 countries in South Asia, South East Asia, the GCC region and East Africa
and it is in the process of expanding to the UK and Saudi Arabia, added Luthra.
The company is
expecting a consolidated revenue of Rs 1,000 crore during the current financial
year, growing from over Rs 800 crore revenue last year. The contribution of
domestic business is around 60 per cent, while international business accounts
for 40 per cent of the revenue.
