Indian beauty online marketplace Nykaa made a majority investment in homegrown skincare brand Dot & Key.

WHO: Founded by Suyash Saraf and Anisha Saraf, Kolkata-based Dot & Key offers premium skincare products. The brand has recently expanded into nutraceuticals under the brand IKWI.

Nykaa founder and CEO Falguni Nayar, a former Managing Director at Kotak Investment Banking, founded Nykaa as an e-commerce platform for beauty and wellness products in 2012. The Mumbai-headquartered company launched offline operations in 2015 and currently has more than 2,500 brands including 13 owned brands and over 70 offline stores. Nykaa has grown to be India's biggest online marketplace for beauty, personal care, and fashion brands.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "Dot & Key's product range presents an exciting opportunity for Nykaa as it allows us to extend the brand's reach to a larger landscape of consumers and enter the nutraceutical space as well. Dot & Key is a consumer centric brand with a growing base of consumers and a range of skincare solutions," said Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO, Nykaa.

"Nykaa's position in the beauty landscape in India and its resources will allow Dot & Key to grow further as a brand and scale to the next level," said Suyash Saraf, co-founder, Dot & Key.

DETAILS:

• Nykaa acquired 51% of the outstanding equity shares of Dot & Key Wellness Private Ltd (Dot & Key) through the subscription and purchase of equity shares. In tranche 2, up to Rs 153 crore will be considered to acquire up to 49% stake of the promoters during FY2025 depending on performance and valuation.
• This transaction is the first beauty acquisition for Nykaa.
• Following the investment, Dot & Key will join Nykaa's stable of owned brands,
• Nykaa's IPO in November 2021 raised 53.5 billion rupees ($722 million) through the sale.
• Ernst & Young LLP was the exclusive advisor to Dot & Key on the deal.