Source:Business Standard:
Future Ventures targets Rs 750-cr IPO by May first week
Press Trust of India / Mumbai April 11, 2011, 21:19 IST
Future Group's venture capital arm, Future Ventures, is all set to enter the capital market by the first week of May to raise around Rs 750 crore through an IPO, a top company official said today.
The company would be filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for the same in the next two days.
"We are looking at raising Rs 750 crore from the capital market. We have already got Sebi approval for the initial public offer (IPO) and expect to hit the market in the next 3-4 weeks. The exact dates will be decided after we go to the RoC," Future Venture CEO KK Rathi told PTI here.
The proceeds of the IPO would be used to fuel the company's acquisition plans in the FMCG, food and fashion segments, Rathi said, adding the focus in the first year would be primarily on the FMCG space.
"We will be looking at acquiring, creating new and growing our existing private brands. We would focus mainly in the FMCG, food and fashion segments. Our idea is to go beyond modern retail to sell our products. We are talking to a few players in all the three segments," Rathi said.
The company, which has about 30-40 different private brands across these three segments, plans to add new brands through acquisitions or creating new brands.
"We are looking at creating more choices for the consumer and hence want to add more brands. However, these brands will not only be sold through the chain of stores within the Group but also through other distribution channels," Rathi said.
The company, which has brands like Indigo Nation, Lee Cooper, Turtle, AND and Biba, among others, not only sells these brands at Pantaloons, the Group's fashion retail chain, but also at other multi-brand outlets and stand-alone stores.
Similarly, Future Ventures has private brands such as Tasty Treat, which is currently available at Food Bazaar but the company is looking at tapping the nearby local mom and pop stores as well.
The company has acquired a 40 per cent stake in a leading food company, Capital Foods, promoted by Ajay Gupta, that makes Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones brand of noodles, soups, sauces and instant mixes.
"The idea is to create an eco-system for proliferation of our brands. For this, we are looking at multiple distribution channels right from kirana to modern retail," Rathi said.
The company, along with Capital Foods plans to set up a food park at Bangalore that will have 30-40 food processing units to cater to the needs of the retailers. The park will come up in the next 15 months, he added
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