Mumbai: BlueStone Jewellery, an online-first jeweller backed by Ratan Tata, plans to raise around ₹2,000 crore through an IPO, people familiar with the matter said.
The startup is seeking pitches from investment bankers to underwrite and market the IPO that is likely to involve diluting a 10-15% stake, comprising a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale (OFS), they said.
Launched in 2011, BlueStone is backed by prominent investors such as Ratan Tata, Accel, Kalaari, Iron Pillar, IvyCap, Nikhil Kamath, and Saama Capital. Some of the existing private equity investors are expected to sell their holdings entirely or partly through the IPO, people cited above said.
An email query sent to BlueStone Jewellery did not receive any response till press time Wednesday.
The company initially intended to go public in 2022 but postponed the plans and instead raised funds from private equity firms.
Last year, BlueStone secured 550 crore in funding from both existing and new investors including Nikhil Kamath, Ranjan Pai, Amit Jain, Deepinder Goyal, and 360 One, among others, at a valuation of around $440 million. In 2022, the company had raised over $30 million in funding from Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Hero Enterprise, at a valuation of $410 million.
The company reported a 67% increase in operating revenue at 771 crore for the year ended March 2023 against 461 crore in FY22.
BlueStone reportedly opened its first offline store in Pacific Mall in Delhi in 2018, followed by five more across Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. Currently, it has a presence in more than 180 locations and offers more than 8,000 unique designs for customers.
The company has jewellery manufacturing units in Mumbai, Jaipur and other places.
Among the listed players, Titan, which operates under the Tanishq brand, commands a market capitalisation of 3.19 lakh crore, while Kalyan Jewellers is valued at 37,422 crore. Senco Gold is the latest listed company in the sector, currently trading at a valuation of 5,908 crore, a 141% premium to its IPO price in July last year.
