Joyalukkas withdraws IPO worth ₹2,300 crore

Indian jeweller Joyalukkas India Ltd. has withdrawn its ₹2,300 crore initial public offering (IPO), reported sources, citing a document on the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) website on Tuesday.

The company last year had filed its draft red-herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator to raise funds via public issue.

The proceeds from the issue of the initial share sale was to be used to pay back some loans and to open new stores, the company had said in a draft prospectus filed in March 2022.

Joyalukkas is one of the largest jewelry retail and e-commerce chains, operating showrooms across roughly 68 cities and is one of the biggest jewellery retailers in the country.

Alukkas Varghese Joy is the promoter of the Kerala-based company. The date for the impending IPO was scheduled to be announced in early 2023.

Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd., Haitong Securities India Pvt., Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd. and SBI Capital Markets Ltd were chosen as the lead managers to the issue.

The Kerala-based company had picked Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd., Jefferies Group LLC, Credit Suisse Group AG and IIFL Securities Ltd. to arrange the potential share sale.

The jewelery group had earlier put its plans for an public listing on hold in 2018. Indians look at gold as an investment rather than merely jewelry and hold the largest hoard of the precious metal in the world.

Joyalukkas plays in a market dominated by small jewelry sellers and chains like Tata Group’s Tanishq and Warburg Pincus LLC-backed Kalyan.