Japan's MonotaRO invests $15 million in Industrybuying, enters into JV with parent company

Japanese business-to-business ecommerce company MonotaRO is set to invest $15 million in a joint venture with Emtex Engineering, acquiring a majority stake in its SME ecommerce business Industrybuying.com.

While Emtex’s SME business will enter into the JV, the large enterprise supply business will continue to be run under Emtex, the company said in a press note on September 25.

MonotaRO had first announced the deal at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on September 23.

TechCircle said in a report that through the deal, MonotaRO will pick up 51.6 per cent stake in the joint venture with Industrybuying.

In the press note, the Gurugram-based startup said the deal would help Industrybuying access global expertise and infrastructure.

With the expertise and catalogue of more than 10 million products, the agreement can propel the Indian business into a highly profitable growth trajectory, which could eventually lead to a successful IPO in a short time.

Industrybuying is backed by large VCs like Beenext, Saif Partners, Kalaari Capital and others.

Founded in 2013 by Swati Gupta and Rahul Gupta, the platform sells industrial products online for large businesses operating across 40 categories.