GIC hits a hat-trick with bets on Indian developer, jeweller, lender
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, one of the most active private equity-style investors in India, has invested in three Indian companies as it continues to deploy its cash across sectors.
The fund has come in as an anchor investor in Kalyan Jewellers Indian Ltd ahead of the company’s initial public offering that began Tuesday. It also invested in Godrej Properties Ltd and AU Small Finance Bank.
These three investments come just days after GIC picked up an additional stake in SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd last week for Rs 1,533 crore ($210 million).
GIC put in almost Rs 802 crore ($111 million) in Godrej Properties, or a tad more than a fourth of the Rs 3,750 crore that the company raised through a share sale to institutional investors.
Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Goldman Sachs were among the other investors in the Mumbai-based developer, regulatory filings show.
GIC is already an investor in Godrej Properties. It had infused Rs 1,000 crore in the developer in 2018 through a rare entity-level deal in India’s real estate sector, and may have put in more money subsequently.
GIC held a 7.43% stake in Godrej Properties at the end of December 2020, stock-exchange data show. This stake is worth around Rs 2,664 crore based on current share prices.
Kalyan Jewellers, AU SFB
GIC also expanded its portfolio of Indian financial services companies after investing Rs 204 crore in AU Small Finance Bank. The fund joined the private-sector lender’s share sale to institutional investors.
Overall, AU SFB raised Rs 625.5 crore from GIC, HDFC Life Insurance Company and Small Cap World Fund, which is managed by US-based Capital Group.
GIC also invested about Rs 120 crore ($16.6 million) in Kalyan Jewellers, or about a third of the total Rs 352 crore the company raised from 13 anchor investors.
The anchor investors also included HDFC Life Insurance Company, a couple of domestic mutual funds and a few foreign institutions. An alternative investment fund managed by Edelweiss invested Rs 14 crore.
Thrissur, Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers, India’s biggest branded jewellery retailer, has set a price band of Rs 86-87 per share for the IPO. The share sale closes Thursday.
The total IPO size is pegged at Rs 1,175 crore ($162 million). This includes Rs 800 crore in fresh capital and a sale of shares worth Rs 250 crore by private equity giant Warburg Pincus.
Kalyan Jewellers is seeking a valuation of Rs 8,961 crore ($1.23 billion) from the IPO—the first by a jewellery company since PC Jewellers Ltd went public in December 2012.
After the IPO, Warburg will own a 26.26% stake in Kalyan after accounting for fresh shares. Its stake will be worth Rs 2,362 crore at the IPO price.
The Capital Quest previously reported that Warburg will walk away with modest returns from Kalyan Jewellers by selling a little over one-tenth of its stake via the company’s initial public offering.
For more details about the IPO and Warburg’s projected returns, click here.
