Private equity firm buys 25.5% stake in Genesis Luxury Fashion
L Capital Asia, a private equity firm backed by luxury group LVMH, has made its first deal in by buying a 25.5% stake in Indian marketing and distribution firm Genesis Luxury Fashion. The size of the deal has not been disclosed. L Capital also plans to form joint ventures with Genesis for new businesses.
Genesis Luxury Fashion was set up as a subsidiary of Genesis Colors in 2008 for marketing and distribution of luxury brands. The company sells luxury leather bags by Tumi, Italian handcrafted leather bags and accessories by Bottega Veneta and shoes by Jimmy Choo.
L Capital Asia launched a $640 million fund earlier in 2011, targeting the fast-growing economies of China, South Asia and India. The firm has already invested in five companies in South-East Asia and China. L Capital Asia also hired Sanjay Gujral, an executive director in Everstone Capital’s PE team, as its India managing director.
“We are very pleased to announce our first investment in India,” said Ravi Thakran, managing partner of L Capital Asia. “The management of Genesis Luxury Fashion has shown tremendous growth over the past few years and established successful partnerships with global luxury brands. We are now extremely well-positioned to capture the growth of fashion that India is going to see. We hope to expand our portfolio of investments very rapidly here.”
Sanjay Kapoor, managing director of Genesis Luxury, said: “Apart from the capital infusion into our business, we will gain immensely from L Capital’s vast global network and knowledge of the luxury and premium brands business. With the fund’s strong focus on consumer brands, lifestyle concepts, beauty and wellness, this association will be a catalyst for our plans to foray into the premium and fast-fashion brands business.”
