Good Creator Co (GCC), a subsidiary of the Good Glamm group, is acquiring video commerce platform Bulbul in a cash and equity deal, marking yet another major consolidation move in the creator and influencer economy field.

According to insiders, Bulbul's creator Sachin Bhatia would take over as GCC's CEO as part of the arrangement.

GCC expects to employ Bulbul's software stack to assist creators create digital shops and ramp up its influencer-led social commerce play as a result of the acquisition.

“Bulbul is being merged into GCC,” said another person with knowledge of the development. “Some early backers will cash out while others will get an equity swap in GCC,” said another person.

When Good Creator Co was split off in January, the Good Glamm Group, armed with funds collected from investors, committed Rs 200 crore as startup capital.

According to a company executive, the investment will help the company expand its income base.

“Our current revenue run rate for GCC is around Rs 75 crore and we expect it to grow to Rs 250 crore by the end of the current calendar year,” Darpan Sanghvi, founder and CEO, Good Glamm Group told.

GCC has a 1.5 million-strong influencer network across the country. Plixxo, MissMalini Entertainment, Winkl, and Vidooly, an online video analytics business, are among the companies and platforms it has bought.

Bulbul was one of the first firms to explore with live commerce, having launched in 2018. After that failed to catch on, it shifted its focus last year to digitising storefronts for creators, stores, and sellers, as well as influencer-led sales via pre-recorded video.

It last received $8.7 million in 2020, and its backers include Sequoia's Surge, Info Edge, and Leo Capital.

Bulbul was selling unbranded products through a network of 1,000 influencers, largely on YouTube, as of December 2021. According to Bhatia, the platform was processing roughly 100,000 transactions per month in December of last year.

In the fashion, home and kitchen, and electronics categories, Bulbul focuses on tier 2 and tier 3 influencers and markets.

It also developed its own brands, Myfav (for men's grooming), Noor (for women's ethnic wear), and Aro (for men's footwear), which were promoted and pushed by influencers.

The Good Glamm Group has embarked on an acquisition plan in order to expand and grow its business and enter emerging categories such as women's hygiene, organic and clean beauty goods, and mother and baby care, among others. The Moms Co, St. Botanica, Sirona, and Organic Harvest, as well as content portals POPxo, Scoopwhoop, and BabyChakra, have all been acquired by the D2C beauty conglomerate.

The company is supported by investors such as Warburg Pincus, Prosus Ventures, L'Occitane, Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel, and Amazon, and is valued at over $1.2 billion.

According to reports, the company is currently in discussions with investors to put together a new investment round worth more than $2 billion.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are rushing to get a piece of the content creator economy like never before. In recent months, there has been a flurry of acquisitions in the influencer and creator economy, with new generation firms like MamaEarth acquiring influencer-engagement site Momspresso MyMoney.

In 2021, the social commerce industry saw a lot of consolidation, with YouTube buying video commerce firm Simsim and Shop101 being bought by InMobi's Glance.

E-commerce companies are looking at investments and acquisitions to lower the cost of gaining new customers and build a social commerce strategy, according to numerous CEOs.

Read More News :

Vedantu Plans to Launch International Operations with Anticipation of IPO

Sebi Proposes Tight Disclosure Standards for New-Age Companies IPOs