Warburg Pincus on Monday invested Rs. 1,200 crore ($200 million) in Thrissur-headquartered Kalyan Jewellers for an undisclosed minority stake. Kalyan will use the funds for expansion.
This is the largest private equity investment in the domestic jewellery manufacturing and distribution industry, and is the largest private equity investment into Kerala so far, a joint statement said.
Kalyan Jewellers, which has presence in all major markets in the South, Maharashtra, Gujarat, the National Capital Region and Punjab with 55 exclusive outlets in India and six exclusive outlets in the UAE, has embarked on an expansion plans, and the mobilised funds would be deployed for this purpose.
The company is planning to make a foray into new markets, enhance its global presence and eying revenue of Rs.25,000 crore. The company is pursuing a two-pronged approach in its distribution and product strategy.
In the domestic market, it plans to increase the number of exclusive outlets in the existing markets as well as to make foray into newer regions with emphasis on northern and western India. Kalyan Jwellers is also planning to rapidly scale up its global presence in the Middle East by foraying into Kuwait and Qatar and Southeast Asia by setting up base in Singapore and Malaysia.
The company has plans to add over 28 new outlets in the next six months, it said.
“We look forward to working with Warburg Pincus as we continue to build on our foundation and move onto our next phase of growth,” T. S. Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers, said.
“We are excited to partner with the team at Kalyan Jewellers as they continue to grow the business going forward,” Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director and Co-head India, Warburg Pincus, said. “This deal signifies the return of confidence in the Indian consumer growth story. On the back of this deal, we should hope to see more interest in other organised sector players in this space,” said Kalpana Jain, Senior Director, Deloitte in India.