Radhakishan Damani acquires Health & Glow for Rs 700 crore

Billionaire investor and founder of Avenue Supermarts, Radhakishan Damani, recently acquired Health and Glow, a well-known beauty and personal care retail chain based in Bangalore. The deal, valued between 700 to 750 crore, was completed from the family offices of Rajan Raheja and Hemendra Kothari, who were the previous owners.

 

Rajan Raheja is an industrialist with diverse interests in cement, tiles, financial services, and automotives. Some of his notable ventures include Exide Batteries, Raheja QBE General Insurance (a joint venture between Prism Johnson and Australia's OBE Insurance), and Outlook Publishing Group. He had earlier sold a majority stake in his cable TV venture Hathaway to Reliance Industries.

 

Hemendra Kothari, a veteran investment banker, serves as the chairman of DSP Investment Managers, which manages assets worth $15 billion. He founded the firm in 2008 in partnership with BlackRock and later bought out the Wall Street asset manager's stake after a decade. Additionally, Hemendra Kothari was associated with Merrill Lynch in 1995 but gradually sold his 57% stake in tranches between 2005 and 2009.

 

This acquisition marks Radhakishan Damani's second major buyout, following his purchase of Bombav Swadeshi Stores in 2015, the oldest retailer in the country with esteemed founders such as freedom fighters Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mummohandas Ramji, and industrialist JRD Tata. The transaction was executed through Damani's flagship investment vehicle, Bright Star Investments. Although the deal has been kept private so far, it was finalized late last week.