Private equity major Carlyle Group on Tuesday, January 10, said it has acquired a majority stake in VLCC Health Care Ltd, one of the largest homegrown beauty and wellness companies in India. "Equity for the transaction will come from funds managed and advised by entities affiliated with Carlyle Asia Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed," Carlyle said in a statement.

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VLCC will be appointing Gurveen Singh and J. Suresh as independent directors to the board. Singh retired as the chief human resources officer at Reckitt Benckiser and brings with her over 40 years of experience in talent development and HR solutions, the company said.

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"Suresh, who recently retired as the managing director and CEO of Arvind Fashions Ltd and had started his career with Hindustan Unilever, brings to the team over four decades of experience in the consumer and retail sector," the company added.

Amit Jain, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle India Advisors, said the company is excited to invest in and support the growth of VLCC, a homegrown and trusted Indian brand with high brand salience.

Founded by Vandana Luthra, VLCC was among the first multi-outlet corporate operations in the wellness and beauty industry, which was at the time mostly composed of individually operated, small-scale businesses.

"We plan to help VLCC accelerate growth through investments in brand building; product expansion; scaling its pan-India digital and e-commerce distribution channels; and expanding its local footprint of retail clinics," he said.

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Vandana Luthra, Founder of VLCC, said, "We believe VLCC is well-positioned to capture a larger share of the fast-growing skincare, beauty and wellness market in the countries we operate in. We are delighted to have found in Carlyle a partner who shares our vision and plans for taking VLCC to its next level of growth."

VLCC Health Care operates VLCC-branded wellness and beauty clinics and VLCC-branded institutes for skill development in beauty and nutrition. It also manufactures and sells VLCC-branded personal care products.

The company has created an ecosystem of comprehensive services and products, including wellness programmes, weight management solutions, personal care products, nutraceutical products, and skill development training.

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Carlyle has invested more than $5.5 billion of equity in over 40 transactions in India as of September 30, 2022. KPMG India acted as the exclusive transaction advisor to VLCC and the founders.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Jan 10, 2023 5:13 PM IST