Version 1: Senco Gold buys 68% of Melorra for Rs 68 crore to win young jewellery buyers

The Kolkata jeweller signed the final papers on 25 October. Here is how tranches work and why a big chain wants a small online brand.

Picture a startup that once raised more than $88 million from investors. Now a big jewellery chain is buying most of it for Rs 68 crore. That is what happened on Sunday, 25 October 2026, when Senco Gold signed the final papers to take a 68% share of the company behind Melorra, a brand of light, everyday gold jewellery.

Simple maths: Rs 68 crore for 68%. That works out to Rs 1 crore for every 1% of the company.

What exactly did Senco sign?

Senco Gold is a jewellery chain from Kolkata. Melorra is run by a Bengaluru company called August Jewellery Private Limited. In its filing to the stock exchanges, Senco said it has signed a share agreement and a shareholders' agreement with August Jewellery and its current owners.

Here are the key points from that filing:

Senco will own 68% of August Jewellery, for Rs 68 crore in cash.
A firm from Senco's promoter group (the founding family's side) will also buy in. Together, the two will own 79%.
The money will be paid in parts, called tranches. The deal should be complete by February 2027.
After the deal, August Jewellery will be a company controlled by Senco.
No government approval is needed.

Business Standard and The Economic Times carried the same details on Sunday.

Four steps: deal papers signed on 25 October, Rs 68 crore paid in parts, Melorra makes new shares for Senco, Senco owns 68% by February 2027 — How the deal works, in four simple steps

Wait, what is a tranche?

Think of buying a phone on easy monthly payments. You do not pay the whole price on day one. You pay a bit each month until it is done.

A tranche works the same way. Senco will not drop Rs 68 crore in one go. It will put the money in over time, step by step, as certain conditions are met. This lowers the risk for the buyer. If something goes wrong halfway, not all the money is gone.

Where does the money go?

This part is important. Senco is not paying old shareholders to leave. The filing calls it a "primary investment". That means Melorra's company will make brand new shares and give them to Senco. The cash goes into Melorra itself.

A simple way to see it: imagine a samosa stall that needs money. A big snack shop gives cash to the stall, and in return gets most of the ownership. The cash stays at the stall, to buy oil, flour and a new counter.

The filing says the money will be used for growth and to clear old dues, which it calls "discharge of old liabilities". In plain words: pay back what the company already owes.

Bar chart: Senco Gold 68%, promoter group firm 11%, everyone else 21% — Senco plus its promoter group firm will own 79%. The 11% is simply 79 minus 68.

What is Melorra, and what went wrong?

Melorra was started by Saroja Yeramilli, who earlier worked at Tanishq. Her idea was playful, comfortable and trendy jewellery, sold online. Senco's filing says the brand launches fresh designs every week and has 20 stores across India.

For a while, it grew fast. Inc42 reported that Melorra raised more than $88 million from investors such as Lightbox and Norwest Ventures. Its sales jumped from Rs 78.6 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 364.4 crore in 2021-22. But in 2021-22 its loss also grew, to Rs 106.7 crore.

Then sales fell hard. Senco's filing gives Melorra's sales for the last three years:

2023-24: about Rs 174 crore
2024-25: about Rs 33 crore
2025-26: about Rs 98 crore

So sales dropped to less than a fifth in one year, then almost tripled the next year. The bounce year is also the year Senco began running Melorra's stores. In April 2025, Senco signed a "master franchise" deal and started running Melorra's stores.

A franchise is like a chai brand letting someone else run its stalls under its name. As master franchisee, Senco runs all the Melorra stores, and the filing says it still does today.

Number counting up to Rs 98 crore, with three bars for Melorra's sales in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 — Melorra's yearly sales, from Senco's filing

Why does a big jeweller want a small brand?

Senco is much bigger than Melorra. In its business update for July to September 2026, Senco said it has 215 showrooms and crossed Rs 10,000 crore in sales over the last 12 months. Melorra's yearly sales are about 1% of that.

So why bother? Senco gave three reasons in its filing:

Young buyers. Senco wants to reach the "fast-growing young consumer segment".
Online skills. Melorra's design and e-commerce strengths fill a gap for Senco.
Omnichannel. This means selling in shops and online together, so you can see a ring on an app and try it in a store.

Online sales are already growing for Senco. The same update said its e-commerce and digital sales grew 53% in July to September, compared with a year earlier.

Gold prices matter here too. Senco's update said 24 carat gold was about Rs 1.46 lakh for 10 grams at the end of September. When gold is that costly, light pieces are easier on the pocket. Senco itself pointed to an "increasing preference for lightweight jewellery". Light, daily-wear designs are exactly what Melorra sells.

The long road to this deal

This did not happen overnight. Senco's board first approved the plan in January 2026. At that time, ThePrint reported the deal was expected to close by 30 April 2026. Now, with papers signed, the new target is February 2027.

For young people, there is a lesson here. Raising a lot of money does not make a startup safe. Melorra raised more than $88 million over the years, yet most of it is now going to a bigger rival for Rs 68 crore. The new cash, in the filing's words, is meant for growth and for clearing old dues.

Hear it from Senco's boss

Senco's managing director, Suvankar Sen, spoke to ET Now about why the company chose growth over margins (the profit kept from each sale).

Watch on YouTube

And here is a look at the kind of jewellery Melorra makes, from the brand's own channel.