HT Media to exit fashion e-commerce portal Koovs in part or full

Delhi-based HT Media plans to make a partial or full stake sale of its investment in UK-based Koovs Plc that is the parent company of Indian lifestyle online commerce venture Koovs.com. Giving details Sandeep Jain, Chief Strategy Officer, HT Media said he he was not sure if it is going to happen at one go but gradually over a period of time there would be opportunities to sell some part of the stock. Going ahead, HT Media has a sizeable holding in Koovs and it wouldn’t be fair to sell the entire stock in the market in one go. The coming quarter would be the right time, he feels.

The decision to sell its shares in Koovs comes months after HT Media invested $4.4 million (around Rs 29 crore then) in the firm for an 8.31 per cent stake. The company purchased 12 million shares at 25 pence each. In April, the lifestyle e-talier raised funds from existing and new investors includinh HT Media. It was the first significant transaction related to a local e-commerce venture after the government formally allowed foreign direct investment in online marketplaces.

HT Media’s decision to offload its stake in Koovs comes close to Times of India Group’s investment in the e-commerce startup.