Kuwait’s Boutiqaat looking to raise fresh funds at a valuation of up to $1 billion: report

Kuwaiti beauty ecommerce platform is looking to raise fresh funds at a valuation of up to $1 billion, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The report said that the Kuwaiti company has hired Citigroup to explore strategic options including a partial sale of the business and fundraising.

Boutiqaat had hit $500 million valuation last year after one of its first investors Boubyan sold a small part of its stake in a secondary transaction. The investment group had invested $45 million in Boutiqaat in January 2018 at a reported valuation of $250 million.

According to Bloomberg, Boutiqaat is now seeking a valuation between $700 million to $1 billion. The publication spoke to three unnamed sources, two of which have told it that the company is looking for a valuation of about $700 million while the third one said it is targeting $1 billion.

The report also said that the discussions are at an early stage and that the company hasn’t yet reached any potential investors. If it ends up raising money at billion-dollar valuation, it will become the Middle East & North Africa’s third and Kuwait’s first unicorn. Dubai-based Careem and Emerging Markets Property Group are the first two unicorns of the region.

The Kuwaiti ecommerce platform that is built around social media influencers, sells over 25,000 beauty and fashion products (all over GCC) from more than 700 international brands.

The influencers have their virtual boutiques (stores) on Boutiqaat where they add their favorite products, allowing their fans and other customers to easily browse through these curated selections of products and buy whatever they like. Boutiqaat takes care of the entire transaction.

Boutiqaat had started with products for women only but last year expanded to include men’s fashion too.