Singapore-based private equity firm L Catterton Asia has agreed to buy a stake of about 10% in Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd, the Indian company said in a stock-exchange filing on Monday.
L Catterton Asia will acquire the stake through a mix of preferential allotment and secondary purchase of shares, said the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group company behind fashion labels such as Indigo Nation, Scullers and Mother Earth.
Ravi Thakran, chairman and managing partner at L Catterton Asia, said Future Lifestyle offers “a unique combination of retail formats which cater to a large and fast-growing aspirational†consumer segment.
Future Lifestyle is also backed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, the media house better known as the Times Group, and PremjiInvest. The family investment arm of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji had increased its investment in Future Lifestyle Ltd last July.
L Catterton is injecting Rs 170 crore as primary investment into Future Lifestyle and buying shares worth Rs 680 crore from existing shareholders, totaling about Rs 850 crore ($125 million) for a 9.9% stake.
Future Lifestyle’s promoters are selling shares worth Rs 470 crore while a long-only PIPE fund of PremjiInvest is offloading stock worth Rs 334 crore. PIPE refers to private investments in public equities. BCCL also bought some of this stock. It put in around Rs 150 crore, raising its stake from 2.4% to 4.1%.
Lazard India acted as the sole financial adviser to Future Lifestyle and its shareholders for the deal with L Catterton.
Founded in 2012, Future Lifestyle markets about 30 fashion brands through company-operated chains such as Central and Brand Factory, besides exclusive brand outlets, department stores and multi-brand outlets. It operates more than 400 stores spread over 6 million sq ft of space.
L Catterton Asia
The investment firm was earlier known as L Capital. L Catterton Asia was created last year when French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH combined its PE business held under L Capital Asia with Catterton, a consumer-focussed PE firm. It recently revived its India play by backing Riyal Amlani-led restaurant chain operator Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.
The deal with Impresario was its first investment in almost five years, as L Capital had virtually stopped investing in India. Its last deal in India was in 2012, when it invested in GLF Lifestyle Brands Pvt. Ltd, according to VCCEdge, the data research arm of VCCircle.
During this period, L Capital was just managing its India portfolio. It struck a couple of exit deals last year and the year before. It exited ethnic retailer Fabindia late last year. In 2015, it had exited PVR Ltd, the country’s largest multiplex chain operator, and PVR Leisure, the mall entertainment and gaming arena arm of PVR. It counts apparel retailer Genesis Luxury among its Indian portfolio firms.
*This article has been updated to include additional details of the transaction.