ITC to acquire 10% stake in Blupin Technologies

Diversified entity ITC on Thursday said it will obtain 10.07 per cent stake in Blupin Technologies, the firm behind direct-to-consumer(D2C) brand, Mylo for up to Rs 39.34 crore.

The investment in Mylo is part of a USD 17 million (nearly Rs 130 crore) raised by Blupin Technologies in a Series B funding round led by W Health Ventures, a US-based digital health investor and Endiya Partners, besides ITC.

Other investors who took part in the round include Riverwalk Holdings, Alteria Capital, and Innoven Capital.

ITC said in a regulatory filing its investment in Mylo will provide it an early mover advantage in the evolving content-to-community-to-commerce space and will provide an extended presence in the D2C space.

Blupin Technologies is a web and app-based content-to-community-to-commerce platform and offers mother and baby care products and services under brand name 'Mylo'.

It is focused on the parenting journey of young families, it added. The cost of acquisition will not exceed Rs 39.34 crore, the filing said.

"With this investment, ITC will further expand its presence in the D2C mother and baby care segment," the group said.

Commenting on the acquisition, ITC Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, Sameer Satpathy said, within a short period of time, Mylo has demonstrated great potential in the evolving content-to-community-to-commerce model by nurturing an online platform where people learn, share, trust and belong.

"The investment will provide ITC the opportunity to foray into this emerging space and become an integral part of the evolution of this area," he added.

He further said, the investment in Mylo will also enable ITC to strengthen focus in the mother and baby community building platform, besides growing its presence in the D2C mother and child care segment.

Commenting on the overall fundraising, Blupin Technologies Founder and CEO Vinit Garg said in a separate statement,"The investment will help us build the Mylo brand, scale our community, products verticals and launch our digital health solutions for mothers."

"We are thrilled to onboard investors who bring significant operational and healthcare expertise in our expansion areas that will help us build India's number one full-stack one-stop solution for mothers."

Garg said the partnership with ITC will further provide unique synergies and competitive strengths to scale Mylo's business.

ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri has been giving thrust on identifying new vectors of growth.

In November 2021, the company had announced its investment in Mother Sparsh Baby Care Pvt Ltd, an ayurvedic and natural personal care brand in the D2C space with a focus on the mother and baby care segment.

On its investment in Mylo, W Health Ventures Executive Vice President Pankaj Jethwani said, Mylo leverages technology to provide a supportive community-led platform that helps solve critical problems that women face in their pregnancy and motherhood journeys.

"We believe the tremendous adoption of internet and e-commerce among Indian women will be a catalyst for Mylo's growth. W Health Ventures invests in healthcare companies that address critical unmet healthcare needs and simplify the experience for patients and providers," he said.