Pune-based jewellery chain P.N. Gadgil & Sons Ltd is planning to soon file its draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO) with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), two people aware of the development said.
P.N. Gadgil & Sons currently has 25 stores across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. Before it was incorporated as an unlisted public company on 6 November 2017, P.N. Gadgil & Sons operated as a partnership firm. Its current promoters are Govind Vishwanath Gadgil and Renu Govind Gadgil.
“P.N. Gadgil & Sons is looking to file its DRHP very soon. The company has appointed investment banks HDFC Bank Ltd and YES Securities (India) Ltd to manage the IPO,” one of the people mentioned above said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak with the media.
The firm is looking to raise Rs500 crore primary capital for the expansion of business and also for repayment of debt, said the second person mentioned above.
Emails sent to HDFC Bank and YES Securities did not elicit any response. Amit Modak, chief executive of P.N. Gadgil & Sons, said over the phone, “we will come back on this at an appropriate time.”
According to a report by rating agency Icra in 2016-17, P.N. Gadgil & Sons reported operating revenue of Rs1,543.1 compared to Rs1,660.7 crore a year earlier.
P.N. Gadgil’s IPO plan comes at a time when the jewellery industry has taken a beating following recent fraud cases related to billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
In February, Modi group and Choksi’s Gitanjali group were accused of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of over Rs13,000 crore.
Several other cases of bank fraud by jewellers have also come to light. Those accused by lenders include two Chennai-based jewellers—Kanishk Gold Pvt. Ltd and Nathella Sampath Jewelry Pvt. Ltd, and Delhi-based diamond jewellery exporter Dwarka Das Seth International Pvt. Ltd.
According to the first person cited above, P.N. Gadgil & Sons is going ahead with its IPO plans despite the headwinds facing the sector as it has a good credibility and strong fundamentals.
P.N. Gadgil & Sons is not the only company from the jewellery industry that plans to go public. In February, Mint reported that Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd planned to file draft papers for its approximately Rs2,500 crore IPO.
Founded by T.S. Kalyanaraman, Kalyan Jewellers opened its first store in 1993 at Thrissur in Kerala and has Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador.
According to media reports, two other jewellery companies– Kerala-based Joyalukkas India Pvt. Ltd and Kolkata-based jewellery retailer Senco Gold Ltd are also planning to go public.
Established in 1987 by Joy Alukkas, Joyalukkas India is a part of the Joyalukkas Group which has interests in jewellery, money exchange, fashion and silks, and malls.
Senco Gold, backed by venture capital firm SAIF Partners, currently operates 87 jewellery outlets across India. SAIF Partners had invested Rs80 crore in 2014.
This story was first published on livemint.com
