Azim Premji-Backed Fabindia Plans To Seek As Much As $500 Million In IPO, Says Report  

The company aims to submit its so-called draft red herring prospectus as soon as early next year

Fabindia is considering seeking a valuation of about $2 billion. Image: AFP

New Delhi: Fabindia, a retailer of clothing and furniture inspired by traditional Indian crafts, all set to file preliminary documents for an initial public offering (IPO) of as much as $500 million, according to people familiar with the development told Bloomberg.

The Delhi-based company, whose backers include PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro founder Azim Premji, aims to submit its so-called draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) as soon as early next year, the sources said. Its IPO will largely consist of investors selling existing shares, they said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

Fabindia is considering seeking a valuation of about $2 billion, one of the sources said.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the listing such as size and timing could change, the people said.

Representatives for Fabindia and PremjiInvest didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indian companies are pushing ahead with their IPO plans even after Paytm’s tumultuous listing, which saw the firm behind the country’s biggest IPO plunge more than 35 per cent in the first two days of trading, challenged investors’ exuberance.

Star Health and Allied Insurance’s IPO last week, the first large offering since Paytm’s debut, was trimmed after failing to get bids for all the shares on sale.

Founded in 1960 by John Bissell to showcase Indian handloom textiles to the world, Fabindia sources a large share of its products from villages across India, according to its website.

The company connects more than 55,000 rural producers to urban markets, and runs its own school with nearly 500 students, the website shows.

Apart from Fabindia, some upcoming IPOs of this week include companies like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed footwear company Metro Brands, distribution technology company RateGain, real estate firm Shriram Properties, and digital map maker MapmyIndia. These four companies plan to raise more than Rs 4,100 crore through IPO. There will be spoilt for choice for investors as these companies may gain enough traction during listing, according to market analysts.