United Spirits today said it has acquired 26 per cent stake in HipBar, an electronic payment platform servicing alcoholic beverage industry, for Rs 27 crore.
The company has subscribed to 4,567,568 equity shares of Hip Bar at Rs 59.11 per equity share, United Spirits Ltd (USL) said in a regulatory filing.
Hip Bar, which serves the needs of beverage alcohol industry and its consumers through the HipBar Mobile Wallet and delivery app, had a turnover of Rs 8,108 in the financial year ended March 31, 2017. Its net worth was at Rs 3,81,45,431, the filing added.
USL, which is a part of Diageo group, said HipBar's platform should provide growth opportunities for its on-line, ecommerce route to market.
"E-commerce is making an impact on just about every industry imaginable, and the beverage alcohol industry is set to be the next sector to be disrupted by the continued shift to digital," Diageo India CEO and Managing Director Anand Kripalu said in a statement.
He further said, "We believe that HipBar is creating the right conduit for all players across the industry as it opens up a new and convenient route to reach consumers within the industry's complex regulatory environment."
Hip Bar Founder Prasanna Natarajan said USL's investment in the company showed the industry's commitment and need for digital transformation.
More From This Section
"We hope to bring in the global best practices and build sustainable partnerships with governments, the trade and all the players in the industry to drive this category evolution," he added.
HipBar app allows age-verified consumers to purchase alcoholic beverages from a wide range of brands and make payment using mobile wallet to have the product delivered at their doorstep (where permitted) or pick it up from a retail store at their convenience.
On B2B front, HipBar works closely with the beverage alcohol industry and the government to custom build software and deploy technology projects that will help the category to move forward in a compliant and sustainable manner, the statement added.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
