- Companies
- Cello
Cello Valuation, Funding & Investors
Cello is valued at $626M as of November 2022.
Last Cello valuation
$626M
Undisclosed stage · Nov 2022
Last Cello funding round
$68M
Undisclosed stage · Oct 2023
Cumulative funding Cello raised
$112M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in Cello
About Cello
Cello is a Vadodara-based manufacturer of plastic products including India's top-selling ballpoint pens, geometry boxes, and household items. Part of the 1,000 crore rupee Cello World group founded in 1981, it produces 4 billion pens annually across 15 factories. Exported to 70 countries, it holds 40 percent domestic market share and won the Plexconcil Award for export excellence 18 consecutive times from 2000 to 2017.
Founded
1958
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$626M (Nov 2022)
Sectors
Cello Valuation
Cello is currently valued at $626M, based on its undisclosed-stage round in November 2022.
The $44M round was led by ICICI Venture.
Cello valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2022 | Undisclosed stage | $626M |
Cello Funding History
Cello has raised a total of $112M across 2 funding rounds.
Cello's first fundraising round was a $44M undisclosed-stage round in November 2022. The most recent completed round was a $68M undisclosed-stage round in October 2023.
Cello funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | Undisclosed stage | Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC; Ashoka India Equity IT; HSBC; Invest India Micro Pension Services Private Limited (IIMPS); CLSA; Edelweiss Mutual Fund; Goldman Sachs; BNP Paribas Arbitrage; HDFC Asset Management; Morgan Stanley; Eminence Global; ICICI Prudential Asset Management | $68M | - | - |
| Nov 2022 | Undisclosed stage | ICICI Venture (lead) | $44M | $626M | Cello World is a leading Indian consumerware company with presence in consumer houseware (hydration products like steel/plastic bottles, thermoware, glassware/opalware), writing instruments/stationery under Unomax brand, and moulded furniture/allied products. It operates 13 manufacturing facilities across five locations and reaches 30,000 retail outlets via 300+ distributors, positioning it as a prominent player in a market growing at 16% average with trends in branding and premiumisation. In September-October 2022, Cello World raised Rs 475 crore from four alternative investment funds, including three managed by ICICI Venture Funds and one by Tata Capital, via 0.7 crore compulsorily convertible preference shares at a valuation of Rs 5,850 crore. ICICI Venture specifically invested Rs 360 crore as part of its 5th India mid-market PE fund (IAF5). Upon conversion, these investors held 8.12% pre-IPO stake. This marked the first private equity raise for the family-owned business under Rathod family leadership. The company demonstrated industry-leading growth and profitability, supported by pan-India distribution. Revenue grew from Rs 1,049.5 crore in 2021 to Rs 1,359.2 crore in 2022 and Rs 1,796.7 crore in 2023, though specific FY22 revenue term confirmation ties to IPO docs. It went public via IPO in Oct-Nov 2023 raising Rs 1,900 crore (OFS), at Rs 13,753 crore valuation, and later a Rs 737 crore QIP in 2024 diluting promoters to 75%. |
Who has invested in Cello?
13 investors have backed Cello across its funding rounds, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, ICICI Venture, HDFC Asset Management and ICICI Prudential Asset Management.
Lead investors include ICICI Venture.
Cello Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2023 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Nov 2022 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 13 Cello investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialCello Competitors
Cello competitors include listed companies like FILA-Fabbrica Italiana, ME Group International, Ennis and PAX Global Technology, and private ones like Spacewood and Legami.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $659M | $85M | $627M | 1.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $424M | $165M | $604M | 1.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $392M | $74M | $541M | 1.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $748M | $129M | $512M | - | ||
| Private | - | $7M | $128M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $18M | - |
Cello Public Comps
Cello is still privately-owned, but its public comps include FILA-Fabbrica Italiana, ME Group International, Ennis, PAX Global Technology, CompX, ITAB Group, ACCO Brands, Cre8 Direct (Ningbo) Co, Navneet Education and Mitsubishi Pencil.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $659M | $85M | 1.4x | 1.3x | 10.9x | 7.0x | |||
| $424M | $165M | 1.4x | 1.4x | 3.7x | 3.9x | |||
| $392M | $74M | 1.3x | 1.3x | 6.8x | 7.0x | |||
| $748M | $129M | - | - | - | - | |||
| $158M | $26M | 2.6x | - | 15.8x | - | |||
| $1.3B | $88M | 0.3x | 0.3x | 4.4x | 2.9x | |||
| $1.5B | $158M | 0.9x | 0.8x | 8.2x | 6.9x | |||
| $320M | $27M | 1.3x | 1.3x | 15.5x | 10.4x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Cello competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Cello
| When was Cello founded? | Cello was founded in 1958. |
| Where is Cello headquartered? | Cello is headquartered in Mumbai, India. |
| Is Cello publicly listed? | No, Cello is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Cello's valuation? | Cello was last valued at $626M in its undisclosed-stage round in November 2022. |
| How much funding has Cello raised? | Cello has raised $112M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was Cello's last funding round? | Cello's last funding round was a $68M undisclosed-stage round in October 2023. |
| Who are Cello's investors? | Cello's investors include Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Ashoka India Equity IT, HSBC, Invest India Micro Pension Services Private Limited (IIMPS), CLSA, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas Arbitrage, HDFC Asset Management, Morgan Stanley and 3 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Cello? | Companies comparable to Cello include FILA-Fabbrica Italiana, ME Group International, Ennis, PAX Global Technology, Spacewood and Legami. |
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