Mensa Brands has sold its stake in wearable device maker Pebble and wants to exit Renee Cosmetics as the brand aggregator hopes to cash out of some of its recent investments.
The company also plans to raise $100 million at a valuation of $850 million and move to India before it plans to go public.
“In addition to selling shares in Renee (which owns about 15% of the shares), Mensa may also divest its stake in such a villain brand,” he added. A Mensa brand spokesman confirmed Renee Stake Sale, calling it a “financial investment.” In 2022, Mensa Brands invested in Renee, which provides women with what are called cruelty-free makeup products.
Share sale may take Renee seriously ₹2,000-25 million, the second person knows the deal, which means ₹Mensa’s interest holdings are 2 million. Mensa Brands leads Renee’s Series A fundraising campaign, which owns approximately 11% of Renee’s shares.
A Mensa Brands spokesman denied that other brands are being sold, including Villain, a men’s cosmetics brand it supports in 2021.
Mensa Brands has also moved its headquarters to India and joined startups familiar to foreigners who have moved, such as Flipkart, Zepto and Dream Sports, aiming to better utilize the country’s capital markets.
One of the three said: “The company has initiated the process of returning to India from Singapore. This is the preparation they finally listed in India.”
A 36-month journey
A Mensa brand spokesman said the IPO will take at least 36 months.
Mensa was founded by Ananth Narayanan, former CEO of Myntra, who has earned some of the highest investments in seeds among Indian startups. Tracxn data shows it raised a total of $207 million in funding. Top supporters include Accel, Alpha Wave Global, and Norwest Venture Partners.
Following the strategy of branding, it gains about 20 brands in clothing, beauty and personal care as well as home decor segments. The strategy involves acquiring multiple fast-growing digital-first brands and scaling them under a single roof.
Mensa Brands, whose annual revenue run rate is $200 million, has become EBITDA positive, a spokesperson said. “We are now in the month of the EBITDA program.”
India has seen startups pursuing brand strategies, following startups worldwide known as Thrasio’s model. Under this structure, a company will merge multiple small e-commerce brands and sellers under its umbrella and operate them as an organized company. By doing so, the company promises to expand operating margins by reducing overheads such as office expenses, accounting and legal costs, and various other operating costs, and sell small brands under it to generate greater returns.
In addition to Mensa, another major player who hosts investor Love is First Cry Bask Bask Bask Blobalbees. The company has raised $280 million in debt and equity to date, backed by investors such as Lightspeed, Chryscapital and Softbank. Meanwhile, the Bangalore-based Boxseat Ventures Pvt. Limited, which operates e-commerce summary 10club, is about to raise $40 million in early stage capital, close to closing the store. Other smaller players in the space include Upscalio, Goat, PowerHouse91 and Feelflow.
