Fabindia Postpones IPO Worth Rs 500 Cr: Report

In light of the challenging socioeconomic environment, Premji Invest-backed clothing retailer Fabindia has postponed its initial public offering (IPO). By a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 500 crore and an offer of sale (OFS) of up to 2.5 lakh shares of existing shareholders, the company intended to raise $482 million (about Rs 4,000 crore).

The business said that by withdrawing, it will be able to evaluate other liquidity options and may later revisit applying for an IPO, based on the requirement for growth capital in the context of the present market environment.

It continued without providing any information that some well-known international ESG-focused funds had indicated interest in investing in the company.

The 62-year-old business, which is well-known for its eco-friendly and traditional Indian clothing, follows in the footsteps of companies like consumer electronics company boAt and jewellery chain Joyalukkas in abandoning ambitions to go public due to unstable market conditions. Recently, Snapdeal, an e-commerce company sponsored by Softbank, too cancelled its IPO preparations.

The listed companies of Fabindia, Vedant Fashion, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, and Arvind Fashion, have experienced declines of 14 per cent to 21 per cent so far in 2018.