L&L Partners advised Sequoia in recent round of investment in ‘Minimalist’

LE Desk

New Delhi, July 31, 2021: L&L Partners recently advised SCI Venture Investments VII and Surge Ventures II — together, Sequoia — in its recent round of investment in Uprising Science Private Limited, the Company engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling personalised haircare products under the brand name ‘Freewill’ and skincare products under the brand name ‘Minimalist’.  

The present investment was undertaken in the form of primary and secondary investments in the equity shares and compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares of the Series A funding round undertaken by Minimalist. The investment round was led by Sequoia along with participation from Unilever Swiss Holdings A.G. (Unilever), amounting for a total investment of approximately Rs 110 crores, L&L Partners said in a press statement.  

The Law Firm acted as legal counsel to Sequoia and was involved in conducting due diligence, drafting, negotiating and finalizing of the transaction documents, including the share purchase agreement, share subscription agreement and shareholders’ agreement and also coordinating with and advising the client on various aspects under Indian law.  

The transaction team consisted of Navin Syiem – Partner, Nitin Gera – Managing Associate, Shruti Barua – Senior Associate and Sameer Deval – Associate. 

Since the deal involved both primary and secondary investments by multiple investors, the team was involved in advising on the overall structuring of the transaction including advising on the rights of Sequoia in the Company. This required multiple rounds of negotiations with the Minimalist team and Unilever to arrive at the most suitable structure for the primary investment and to successfully negotiate the investor rights in the shareholders’ agreement, the statement said.

“The transaction was particularly challenging as both the primary and secondary investment by two non-resident investors were required to be accommodated in a series of transactions. Hence, the deal was structured in a distinct manner to accommodate the interests of all the parties involved in the transaction,” the Law Firm said in the statement.  

Minimalist was founded in 2020. The objective of the Company has been to create hard-working, clean, easy to understand, and affordable skincare for all. The Company has a portfolio of diverse skincare and hair care products, the brand retails through its own website, along with e-commerce giants like Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, Myntra, and numerous other marketplaces. It currently offers 20 products ranging from serums, toners, face acids, and moisturizers. 

The investment is critical for Minimalist as their revenue has grown in the last year and the Company has substantially increased its customer base over the last few months, the statement said. 

It further said the investment will assist Minimalist to enhance its infrastructure and R&D capabilities, and launch in global markets. It would also double down on its content creation efforts by sharing well-researched knowledge about skincare with its consumers.