Kalyan Jewellers raises Rs1,200-cr from PE firm Warburg Pincus

Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers has raised Rs1,200 crore from private equity firm Warburg Pincus in the largest private equity investment in the jewellery manufacturing sector in the country.

This is also the largest PE investment into Kerala so far.

Kalyan Jewellers, which has a presence across all major markets in south as also in  Maharashtra, Gujarat, National Capital Region (NCR) and Punjab, has a network of 55 exclusive outlets in India and six in the United Arab Emirates.

Kalyan, which is pursuing an expansion in the domestic market, plans to enhance the number of exclusive outlets in existing markets and enter newer regions in the northern and the western states and follow a two-pronged approach in its distribution and product strategy.

Simultaneously, the jeweller also plans to rapidly scale up its global presence by entering Kuwait and Qatar in the Middle East and Singapore and Malaysia in South East Asia. Kalyan plans to add over 28 new outlets in the next six months enhancing its distribution network significantly.

Making the announcement, T S Kalyanaraman, chairman and managing director, Kalyan Jewellers, said, ''We are delighted to welcome Warburg Pincus as our growth partner. Jewellery is one of the largest consumption categories in India.''

The company is now eyeing a Rs25,000 crore revenue, he said.

According to Vishal Mahadevia, managing director and co-head India, Warburg Pincus, its investment in Kalyan Jewellers "is the largest private equity investment into the jewellery industry in India." He added Kalyan Jewellers had built "a market-leading brand and an organisation of scale."