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Reuters
Published
Feb 21, 2023
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Indian jeweller Joyalukkas withdraws $278 mln IPO

By
Reuters
Published
Feb 21, 2023

Joyalukkas, one of India's biggest jewellery retailers, shelved plans for a public listing, a document on the market regulator's website showed on Tuesday, making it the first major company this year to pull its plans for an initial public offering (IPO).


Joyalukkas withdraws $278 mln IPO - Joyalukkas


Joyalukkas did not give a reason for withdrawing its 23-billion-rupees ($278 million) IPO, but analysts said the most likely reason was macro-economic concerns such as market volatility and stubbornly high inflation.

"The primary market is still very much in a dry state unless this global economic condition settles. That would be the main reason why they have withdrawn it," said Prashanth Tapse, a research analyst at Mehta Equities.

Joyalukkas did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal pulled its $152 million IPO in December, amid a meltdown in tech stocks, while wearable electronics company boAt, in October, decided to raise funds from existing investors rather than go ahead with a planned IPO.

Joyalukkas filed its IPO paper last March and planned to use 14 billion rupees of the proceeds to repay or pre-pay debt. It was scheduled to announce the IPO date in early 2023.

The company, based in the southern Indian state of Kerala, operates showrooms across roughly 68 cities.

The IPO's book runners were Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd, Haitong Securities India, and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.

None of them immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gold jewellery is a traditional investment in India, the second-biggest market for gold in the world. The World Gold Council had said last month that a rise in prices had led to a 3% slip in consumption of the yellow metal in India.

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