KKR-Backed Livspace Sets Aside $100 Million for Acquisitions

(Bloomberg) -- Livspace, a home interiors and renovation platform backed by KKR & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is setting aside $100 million for acquisitions to fuel expansion across India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East.

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The Singapore-based startup is in active discussions with eight to nine companies as it hunts for assets that would help the company generate growth and accelerate its path to profitability, Livspace Chief Executive Officer Anuj Srivastava said.

“This is our strategy to expand the market size and the profitability profile of the company,” Srivastava said in a joint interview with Ankit Shah, a former Goldman Sachs executive director who joined Livspace as chief strategy officer earlier this year. Its consolidation strategy will help put Livspace “on clear path to profitability for our core business over the next 12 to 18 months,” the CEO said.

The move comes after Livspace raised $180 million in a funding round that valued the company at more than $1 billion. The Series F round was led by KKR and drew in existing investors including Ikea-parent Ingka Group Investments, Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners and Peugeot Investments.

Of the potential targets, Livspace is likely to end up acquiring about three to four companies, rather than taking a small stake in a bunch of companies, the two executives said.

“Our plan is to do less but do it well,” said Shah, who will spearhead the company’s acquisition efforts. “It gives us more opportunity to truly act as a consolidation platform and acquire some of these capabilities in a strategic way.”

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