Indian meme marketing startup Wubba Lubba Dub Dub (WLDD) is in talks to acquire ScoopWhoop from troubled content-to-commerce firm Good Glamm Group. The proposed sale of ScoopWhoop comes a week after the Prosus-backed group sold back Sirona Hygiene to its founders. The sale will help the cash-strapped group to meet some of its immediate payment obligations, two people with knowledge of the deal said.
“WLDD has given a term sheet, and currently, due diligence is being carried out,” the first person quoted above said.
This time around, ScoopWhoop, which was acquired in 2021 by the Darpan Sanghvi-led group for ₹100 crore, is now being sold for ₹18-20 crore, the second person said. This would help the company meet some of its payment obligations, including employee salaries and vendor payouts.
The Good Glamm Group is also fighting litigation by the original founders of ScoopWhoop over non-payment of the promised payouts. This includes a second tranche of cash consideration and equity upside.
Last week, the founders of Sirona Hygiene bought back the company from Good Glamm just four months after its sale was finally completed. Good Glamm invested ₹100 crore in Sirona through primary and secondary investments in 2022. It concluded the acquisition of Sirona in October for ₹450 crore in an all-cash deal, ending a long-drawn dispute over non-payment of dues, Mint reported.
Before that, three directors on the board of the troubled direct-to-consumer startup had resigned in anticipation of the upcoming restructuring of the firm, which is expected to happen on ‘punitive terms’.
Financial troubles
Good Glamm is undergoing a process of restructuring through which it expects to raise capital at a very low valuation, likely changing its captable completely—as existing shareholders may not participate. This is similar to what new-age omnichannel pharmacy Pharmeasy went through in 2020 when it raised capital at a sub-$500 million valuation, down from what it was once valued at—$5.6 billion, Mint had reported.
In the case of Good Glamm Group, which made its way to the unicorn club in 2021 after raising capital from investors including Prosus and Warburg Pincus, its existing shareholders are unlikely to participate in the new funding round as they want to limit their financial exposure. This move will wipe out their stake on the captable, Mint report said.
The group has in the recent past contained its burn to extend financial runway, explored sales of various brands and has even tried merging with a large Thrasio-style business in India, people quoted above said.
In response to emailed queries, a Good Glamm Group spokesperson declined to comment. WLDD and ScoopWhoop spokespersons, too, declined comment.
WLDD, founded in 2018 by Arihant Jain, Vivekanand Kilari, and Jaidev Kesti, is a meme-to-media company that works with brands to plan and execute culturally relevant campaigns. It counts firms such as JioHotstar, Rapido, Flipkart, ITC, etc., among its clients. In April 2023, WLDD raised $1.25 million from Negen Capital in a seed funding round.
