IFC to invest $29m in India’s Future Lifestyle Fashions

According to a regulatory filing, the development finance institution will buy 5.1 newly issued shares in FLF at INR414 apiece, a premium to the February 19 closing price of INR389.15. The size of IFC’s stake has not been disclosed. FLF also announced that FQS Trading, a promoter group entity, would acquire 9.6 million shares at INR414.  

The investment comes three months after The Blackstone Group committed INR17.5 billion to raise its stake in the company to 6%. Other PE investors include L Catterton, Premjinvest and Aion Capital Partners, a joint venture between Apollo Global Management and ICICI Venture. The latter invested INR3 billion in July 2019.

"The proposed fundraise from IFC and the promoter entity would be inter-alia utilized towards enhancing stake in subsidiaries and associates of FLFL and debt reduction," the company said in the filing.  

FLF is one of India’s largest fashion companies with a portfolio spanning some 30 owned and licensed brands. It owns the national distribution rights for global names such as John Miller, Umbro, and UMM, along with a number of its own clothing lines.

The company claims to employ a differentiated “design to distribution” strategy that allows it to set trends and an Indian idiom for fashion. Customer-facing outlets include the Central and Brand Factory chains, which target the premium and discount markets via a combined 346 locations. 

Revenue improved 26% during the 2019 financial year to INR54 billion, while net profit increased 36% to INR1.5 billion. Shares in the company have declined 6.4% since the start of the month and have traded around the INR385 mark for the past week.

The stock traded as high as INR470 last July when Blackstone announced its intention to invest.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• PIPEs
• Consumer
• India
• International Finance Corporation