House of brands startup, BRND.ME has sold MensXP’s parent entity, India Lifestyle Network (ILN), to RPSG Group under its portfolio simplification efforts.
“We have taken some strategic calls to simplify our portfolio, which led to divestment of some of our financial and non-strategic assets including ILN. We cannot confirm financial details regarding the same,” a company spokesperson shared while confirming the development to YourStory Media.
The deal was completed earlier this year in May, with ILN being absorbed by RPSG Group.
The development was first reported by Inc42, which added that ILN was sold for $9 million in an all-cash deal, marking an 85% drop in the content platform’s valuation.
Founded in 2017 by Anagad Bhatia, ILN operates both MensXP, which is a men-focused platform that publishes content about lifestyle categories, and iDiva which runs a women-focused platform with content in categories including beauty, fashion, and health. It also has a creator management and marketing platform for influencers under the name HYPP.
BRND.ME, formerly known as Mensa Brands, acquires and scales digital-first startups. It had partnered with India Lifestyle Network and acquired MensXP, iDiva, and Hypp from Times Internet in December 2022.
Its portfolio, primarily made of lifestyle and health brands, counts Villain, Anubhutee, Karagiri and Myfitness among others.
This marks the latest attempt by Ananth Narayanan-led Thrasio-style startup, which is looking to cash out from its recent investments. According to a report by Mint, the company had sold its stake in wearables maker Pebble and is also looking to exit Renee Cosmetics amid fundraising attempts.
According to a report by MoneyControl, the company is in advanced talks to raise around RS 220-250 crore in a pre-IPO bridge round from its existing investors. It has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Akshay Jain from OLX India. As part of its domestic listing plans, the company has shifted its domicile to India from Singapore and is now focusing on streamlining its portfolio.
The company also slashed its net loss to Rs 155.8 crore in FY24 from Rs 227 crore in the previous year. During the same period, its operating revenue grew by 11.6% to Rs 557.6 crore from RS 499.6 crore, as per regulatory filings.
