Sirona’s founders reclaim brand from Good Glamm four months after sale concluded

Bengaluru/Mumbai: Sirona Hygiene’s founders have bought back the women’s wellness brand just four months after its sale to Good Glamm Group was finally completed.

Good Glamm initially invested ₹100 crore in Sirona through primary and secondary investments in 2022. It concluded the acquisition of Sirona in October last year for ₹450 crore in an all-cash deal, ending a long-drawn dispute over non-payment of dues.

Sirona’s return to its founders comes amid Good Glamm’s mounting troubles. A cash crunch forced Good Glamm to consider raising fresh funds at a sharply lower valuation, triggering the exit of three directors from the company’s board in November and December.

“The (latest) deal is valued at ₹150 crore and includes debt, vendor payments, and other outstanding dues,” said a person familiar with the development, declining to be identified.

“We have officially bought back #Sirona! The goal was never just to sell, make money, and move on. From day one, the vision was to scale #Sirona and take it global,” Deep Bajaj said in a social media post without disclosing the financial details of the transaction.

“For two years, we nurtured the brand with #GoodGlamm before stepping away. We had a good run together, with its highs and lows. But with Good Glamm’s changing priorities, we felt the best way forward was to reclaim the brand and lead its next phase of growth ourselves,” Bajaj added.

Sirona’s revenue has eroded in recent months, said the unnamed person above, adding that the brand’s revenue run rate of about ₹140 crore at the end of 2023-24 had since “fallen to a fifth” of that amount. 

Sirona’s founders wanted to rescue the brand and preserve value instead of opting for more litigation, this person added.

Good Glamm did not immediately respond to Mint’s queries on the Sirona transaction. 

Also read | Meet Deep Bajaj: Founder and mentor to underdog Indian startups

Sirona’s legal notices against Good Glamm

In April last year, Mint reported that the founders of Sirona and The Moms Co. as well as the Indian Angel Network (IAN) had filed default notices against Good Glamm Group for allegedly not paying the final amounts due to them.

After Good Glamm announced the completion of its acquisition of Sirona in October last year, Sirona’s founders and IAN withdrew the legal notices after Good Glamm agreed to make the pending payments in accordance with new timelines.

Good Glamm operates in multiple business segments. 

The Good Brands Co. comprises beauty and personal care brands such as MyGlamm, St Botanica, The Moms Co., and Organic Harvest, while The Good Media Co. includes POPxo, ScoopWhoop, MissMalini, BabyChakra and Tweak India. The Good Creator Co. serves as an influencer platform alongside The Good Community.

Also read | The mystery of Good Glamm’s global gambit

Good Glamm’s troubles

Not much has gone well for Good Glamm in recent times as the content-to-commerce company struggles with rising costs, high cash burn, mounting debt, and several unsuccessful acquisitions. 

In March last year, investors brought around $30 million as part of a rights issue, but Good Glamm’s business expansion didn’t pan out as anticipated. Good Glamm became a unicorn—a company privately valued at $1 billion or more—in 2021 after raising capital from investors including Prosus and Warburg Pincus.

The company has seen several top-level exits, scaled down some of its brands, laid off teams, and reduced its marketing efforts to conserve cash and eventually achieve profitability.

The Darpan Sanghvi-founded startup’s losses ballooned to ₹917 crore in FY23 from ₹362.5 crore in FY22, although its operating revenue jumped to ₹603 crore from ₹211.4 crore. Good Glamm is yet to file its financials for FY24.