India’s fashion retail giant, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), has acquired a 51 per cent stake in TCNS Clothing, which owns ethnic brands W, Aurelia, Wishful, Folksong, and Elleven. 

The US$202 million deal makes it one of the country’s largest acquisitions in the Indian fashion industry. 

“For ABFRL, the TCNS deal is indeed a significant milestone as it complements our existing portfolio of exceptional brands across the entire spectrum of Indian fashion,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman at Aditya Birla Group. 

“With this acquisition, the fast-growing ABFRL platform is poised for the next phase of transformational growth.”

TCNS Clothing sold its products through more than 650 exclusive brand outlets, 2300 large format stores and 1100 multi-brand locations in India as of March 31. 

Before TCNS, ABFRL invested in several ethnic fashion brands, including House of Masaba, Sabyasachi and Tarun Tahiliani. 

The Indian fashion giant reported a 94 per cent year-on-year drop in tax-paid profit to $1.3 million for the quarter ended December 30 resulting from an “about 2.3 times increase in marketing investments and strategic investments in new ventures”.