Bluestone’s board has given a go ahead for its initial public offering through which the jewellery retailer is looking to raise Rs 1,000 crore in fresh capital.
The company is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus over the course of next week or so, people aware of the matter said. Offline store expansion will be one of the key areas where the firm will use its IPO proceeds.
Accel-backed Bluestone has also converted into a public company — a regulatory process for a privately held company to offer its shares to the public. Regulatory filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies show that Bluestone has now sought approval for the IPO from its shareholders.
“With most of the process done, filing of draft IPO papers is imminent,” a person aware of the matter said. “The company is looking to divest an around 15% stake through the IPO.”
ET reported in August that the company closed a Rs 900 crore funding round at a $970 million (about Rs 8,200 crore at current exchange rate) valuation and would file for an IPO this year.
While the pricing of the IPO hasn’t been finalised, sources said Bluestone could be targeting a valuation of Rs 12,000-13,000 crore. “The final valuation could depend on the market conditions at the time of issue launch,” a person said.
The company’s founder and chief executive Gaurav Singh Kushwaha has bought shares worth Rs 75 crore in Bluestone “for the purposes of satisfying the minimum promoter contribution requirement” for the IPO.
Kushwaha has been allotted the shares at Rs 578 apiece. The filing said if the IPO price is higher than the allocation price, he will pay the difference. Kushwaha now owns 17-18% of the firm.
“This was done per standard Sebi regulations to put the clause on Kushwaha investing in the last round,” another person aware of the matter said.
When reached out to, Kushwaha declined to comment.
Bluestone had earlier this year appointed Axis Capital, IIFL and Kotak Mahindra as bankers for its IPO.
The company has also appointed three independent directors on its board. These are PricewaterhouseCoopers veteran and ICICI Bank independent director Rohit Bhasin, former Axis Bank executive director Rajesh Kumar Dahiya, and Neha Kant, cofounder of online lingerie retailer Clovia.
Bluestone’s IPO comes after Titan, which owns the Tanishq chain, bought out founder Mithun Sacheti’s stake in Caratlane jewellery brand last year, leading to a massive investor interest in the sector. Silver jewellery maker Giva extended its Rs 200 crore funding round by another Rs 255 crore, including secondary share sale.
Prosus, Manipal group chairman Ranjan Pai’s family office, among other investors joined Bluestone’s capitalisation table over the last one year.
Founded in 2011 by Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, Bluestone operates online and through its own retail stores and franchise-owned ones.
In August, ET reported that Bluestone was looking to expand its offline retail footprint to 400 stores over 12-18 months from 220 outlets then.
The Bengaluru-based company’s revenue from operations grew 64% to Rs 1,265.8 crore in fiscal 2024, while its net loss narrowed by around 15% to Rs 142.2 crore.
