Gitanjali Gems Ltd said on Wednesday wholly owned unit Nakshatra World Ltd has decided to raise up to Rs 650 crore ($96 million) through an initial public offering.
The public issue will be subject to requisite statutory and other approvals, market conditions and other relevant considerations, the jewellery retailer said in a stock-exchange filing.
Nakshatra World, formerly known as Gitanjali Brands Ltd, will file a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as and when it is approved by the company’s board.
The plan by Gitanjali Gems for the unit’s IPO comes at a time when a number of companies have hit the primary market this year. As many as 28 companies filed their IPO proposals with SEBI this year and 20 received regulatory clearances, data from the capital markets regulator showed. As many as 27 companies have raised Rs 26,500 crore through IPOs in 2016, double of what was raised last year and the highest since 2010.
The jewellery retailer also said it will dilute its stake in the unit through the IPO but didn’t specify the quantum or the timeline for the issue.
Gitanjali Gems competes with the likes of PC Jeweller Ltd, Kalyan Jewellers and Tata Group’s Titan. It is one of India’s largest publicly listed jewellery retailers by revenue. It posted a net profit of Rs 48.76 crore on revenue of Rs 8,603.63 crore for the year through March 2015-16.
The company had gone public in early 2006 through an IPO that was oversubscribed. Its shares fell 0.6% on the BSE on Wednesday to Rs 62.65, giving the company a market valuation of Rs 743 crore.
The company is part of Gitanjali Group, which is led by chairman and managing director Mehul C Choksi. It sells jewellery under brands such as Gili, Nakshatra, Asmi, Sangini and Parineeta.
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