Fabindia scraps IPO plans considering present market situation

Leading retailer of artisan products and lifestyle items Fabindia on Monday said it has shelved its plans to launch an initial public offering of around Rs 4,000 crore size due to present volatile market conditions.

The company has withdrawn its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with market watchdog Sebi for a public listing, a Fabindia spokesperson said. When asked about the reason for scrapping the IPO plan, the spokesperson said, “The decision to withdraw was taken as the current market conditions were not seen to be conducive for listing of our size.” The validity of Fabindia’s DRHP, which proposed an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 2.50 crore shares, was ending in April 2023.

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The proposed IPO was expected to be worth around Rs 4,000 crore and Fabindia had plans to use the proceeds for voluntary redemption of the company’s NCDs, payment for borrowings and general corporate purposes. The company will explore other options and may reconsider filing an IPO in the future. “The withdrawal of the DRHP will allow Fabindia to explore other options of liquidity. The company may reconsider filing an IPO in the future, depending on its need for growth capital and prevailing market conditions,” it said.

According to Fabindia, several leading global ESG-focused funds have expressed keenness to invest in the company. “They appreciate our strong ESG track record of more than six decades, and believe in our business model which is based on ESG values,” the spokesperson added. Established in 1960, Fabindia sources its products primarily from villages. According to reports, products are produced by over 40,000 artisans and craftspeople across India. In the IPO, the company’s promoters had plans to gift more than 700,000 shares to artisans and farmers.