Flipkart picks up minority stake in Arvind Youth Brand for ₹260 crore

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Thursday announced an investment of ₹260 crore to pick up a minority stake in Arvind Fashions recently-formed subsidiary Arvind Youth Brands which owns the Flying Machine brand.

Through the investment, the Flipkart Group and Arvind Fashions will work collaboratively to identify opportunities and synergies to innovate and develop products with strong value propositions at attractive price points.

"Flying Machine is a brand that is known in households across India, popular with the youth and synonymous with value and style," said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer of Flipkart Group.

"Through this investment, we look forward to partnering with the team at Arvind Youth Brands to continue to grow the market for its portfolio of products and enhance the strong brand equity that has been built over the last few decades," he said in a statement.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions precedent. Metta Capital Advisors acted as the financial advisors to Arvind Fashions for the transaction.

Arvind Fashions is India's leading casual and denim player, a lifestyle powerhouse with a strong portfolio of fashion brands catering to consumers across sub-categories and price points. It has a portfolio of renowned international and indigenous brands like US Polo Assn., Arrow, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Flying Machine, Aeropostale, The Children's Place and Ed Hardy.

It is also India's leading beauty retailer in partnership with Sephora. It owns and runs the value fashion retail chain Unlimited.

The Flipkart Group has a registered customer base of over 200 million, offering over 150 million products across 80-plus categories.