Nalanda Capital acquires stake in Lovable Lingerie

Singapore-based private equity firm Nalanda Capital has picked

up more than five percent or about Rs 23-25 crores worth stake in Mumbai-based Lovable Lingerie. Nalanda picked up stake in the women’s innerwear manufacturer over the past two quarters. This deal got through, while the company is already holding its five-year-old investment in Page Industries, licensed manufacturer of the Jockey brand of innerwear for men and women in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

It may be recalled that Nalanda had picked up nearly 10 percent stake in Page Industries in October 2008 at an average price of Rs 440-450 a unit, which was one of the first PE investments in this segment.

In March 2011, Lovable Lingerie raised Rs 93 crores from its public issue at the upper end of the price band of Rs 195-Rs 205 each. In a pre-IPO investment, Sequoia Capital infused Rs 20 crores and later picked up shares from the market, thus increasing its holding to 11.27 per cent in the company.

Lovable, founded in 1987, is promoted by L Vinay Reddy and has many labels such as Lovable, Daisy Dee and College Style under its fold. The company operates three manufacturing facilities – two in Bengaluru and another unit in Uttarakhand. It reported 13.6 percent growth in top line to Rs 151.1 crores in FY13 but profit after tax slipped 12.8 percent to Rs 18.9 crores during the year as the firm completed its capex cycle and reworked the distribution network.