VLCC In A Strategic Merger Acquires D2C Men's Grooming Brand Ustraa The beauty and skincare brand VLCC is acquiring the men's grooming, direct-to-consumer brand Ustraa through a combination of secondary buy-out and share swap.

The beauty and skincare brand VLCC is acquiring the men's grooming, direct-to-consumer brand Ustraa through a combination of secondary buy-out and share swap. The company in a statement on Friday said, "Post-merger, VLCC will make further investments to accelerate the growth of Ustraa, a brand owned by Happily Unmarried Marketing". This acquisition marks VLCC's incursion into specialised men's grooming and enhanced digital commerce.

Ustraa, founded by Rahul Anand and Rajat Tuli will take the lead in the D2C brand's growth and drive VLCC's direct-to-consumer play. Ustraa's existing Investors InfoEdge, 360 One (formerly IIFL Ventures) and Wipro will be shareholders in VLCC. The chief executive of VLCC, Vikas Gupta said, "This acquisition marks VLCC's foray into the men's grooming market and our aim is to accelerate Ustraa's growth journey by leveraging our pan-India offline distribution." He added that VLCC's existing product business will leverage Ustraa's tech and digital background to scale up in new-age commerce. Rahul Anand and Rajat Tuli, founders of Ustraa, said in a joint statement, "VLCC's management, supported by Carlyle globally, brings the resources which can enable us to significantly grow our brand further and expand the range of products."

A year ago, the global investment firm Carlyle announced a strategic partnership with VLCC through the acquisition of a majority stake in the company. Carlyle's global private equity funds had earlier invested in Beautycounter, Every Man Jack, and Delhivery, among others. The company VLCC was founded by Vandana and Mukesh Luthra and sells skincare, wellness and beauty products along with beauty management services.