Tata Digital Limited has entered into an agreement for investing up to $75 million in CureFit Healthcare Private Limited (CureFit), subject to completion of diligence process and other approvals. Tata Digital Limited is a 100% subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Ltd. CureFit Founder & CEO Mukesh Bansal will join Tata Digital in an executive role as President, Tata Digital Limited. In addition, Mukesh will continue in his leadership role at CureFit.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman Tata Sons said: “The CureFit partnership with its industry leading platform in fitness and wellness aligns very well with our overall healthcare proposition where fitness is increasingly becoming an integral part of a consumers’ life. We are delighted to have Mukesh Bansal as a part of the key leadership team of Tata Digital. With his deep consumer experience and an entrepreneurial mindset of having incubated and grown two very successful businesses, his expertise will bring immense value to us.”
Tata Digital Ltd. also recently acquired a majority stake in online grocer BigBasket for an undisclosed amount. However, the quantum of the stake and deal size were not disclosed. In March, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved the acquisition of up to a 54.3% stake in BigBasket by Tata Digital.
CureFit is one of India’s leading fitness players that has developed a strong ecosystem around fitness and wellness. Indian fitness and wellness market is growing at ~20% per annum and is expected to reach ~$12 billion by 2025. CureFit says it is uniquely positioned to capture a large share leveraging its comprehensive solution and differentiated tech platform. Curefit, with its range of fitness & wellness offerings, will help Tata Digital expand into pro-active health management space.
Mukesh Bansal, Co-founder & CEO of CureFit, said: “Joining Tata Digital marks an exciting new step for me and my team and is a recognition of the value we have created with CureFit for fitness enthusiasts in India. Being part of Tata Digital will enable us to nationally scale up our offerings for our customers.”
Last year, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, several employees including trainers, centre managers of Cult.Fit (CureFit’s fitness centres brand) as well as many cafe managers of Eat.Fit (its healthy food quick service restaurants), were asked to resign as the business was down. CureFit also said at the time that its founders had taken a 100% pay cut, the management team 50% and the rest of the staff took a reduction of 20 to 30% depending on seniority.