Reliance Retail Acquires Urban Ladder

The retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd. has acquired online furniture and home decor store Urban Ladder as it seeks to expand its offerings and digital footprint. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. bought 96% stake in Urban Ladder for Rs 182.12 crore. It has the option to acquire the remaining stake and plans to invest Rs 75 crore in it by December 2023. The aforesaid investment will further enable the group’s digital and new commerce initiatives and widen the bouquet of consumer products provided by the group, while enhancing user engagement and experience across its retail offerings. The deal comes at a time when Reliance Retail is flush with cash, having raised more than Rs 47,000 crore by selling nearly 10% stake to a clutch of investors. Urban Ladder, meanwhile, has fallen into hard times. Its last fundraising effort was in 2018 at a post-money valuation of Rs 776 crore, or $100 million. Urban Ladder had a net profit of Rs 49.41 crore and turnover of Rs 434 crore in FY19.