Ambani’s Reliance Industries buys amanté from MAS Holdings

Friday, 12 November 2021 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reliance Industries Chairman/Managing Director Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Retail Ventures Director Isha Ambani

MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean

MAS Holdings Co-Founder Ajay Amalean

MAS Holdings yesterday announced that one of its subsidiaries, MAS Brands, which owns and operates the retail lingerie business under the brand amanté, was acquired by Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ambani-owned Reliance Industries. The amanté business, which was established by MAS in 2007/8, engages in the retail and wholesale distribution of premium lingerie brands amanté, Ultimo and every dé by amanté. The company sells its product through its own stores and multi-brand outlets, as well as through its e-commerce channels across India and Sri Lanka.

In 2018, MAS Holdings completed an assignment with a leading global consultancy to develop a long-term strategic plan for the conglomerate, which identified areas of growth, based on its core competencies. Furthermore, the strategy prescribed that MAS source strategic partners for businesses outside of MAS’s core competency.

The divestiture of amanté was an outcome of this plan, with MAS intent on finding the right partner to invest in the business enabling it to grow.

MAS said Reliance Group’s move was a significant foreign investment in a Sri Lankan-owned lingerie business by a retail giant, which in turn is owned by one of India’s leading and diversified conglomerates, Reliance Industries. Reliance Retail will continue to invest and develop the business both in India and Sri Lanka.

A transaction of this nature and the ability to attract the largest retailer in India during these times of uncertainty is a testament to the strength of the business that MAS and the management team of amanté have built over the past decade.

“The acquisition by Reliance ensured that amanté would benefit from Reliance’s scale and retail expertise, and that the brand we created, and our employees in India and Sri Lanka will continue to benefit from being a part of a well-established retail company,” MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean said.

“This was a business MAS built from the ground up, leveraging on years of expertise in the lingerie business, so we are excited to see it transition to new shareholders and a parent organisation that, without doubt, will enable the brand and the company to thrive,” added MAS Co-Founder Ajay Amalean, who was directly responsible for overseeing the amanté business from its inception.

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. Director Isha Ambani said: “At Reliance, we pride ourselves in offering the best and enhancing choices to our customers and we are proud to bring high quality and design led products of amanté.

“MAS is a well-recognised product innovator and manufacturer for some of the iconic global brands in this segment, the partnership and collaboration we build together with them will offer Indian customers world-class product quality and greater choices in this segment.”

“The teams at MAS Brands are excited at the new opportunities and prospects that this acquisition brings about, and are anticipating the strategic advantages and new learning that will come from working as part of a retail giant such as Reliance,” said MAS Brands CEO Vivek Mehta.