Provogue in expansion mode, raises Rs 477 cr

Apparel maker and retailer Provogue India has raised Rs 477 crore to fund new malls and its expansion plans.

The company has raised Rs 314 crore through a preferential allotment of shares to a clutch of international investors including Altima Partners, T Rowe Price, Genesis, New Vernon, Liberty International, Acacia Partners, Dharmayug Investment and CNBC.

The company has issued 2.85 million shares at a price of Rs 1,100 a share. The investors paid nearly 5 per cent more than Thursday's closing price of Rs 1,045.

Provogue has also raised Rs 163.24 crore, by issuing 14.84 lakh warrants to promoter group at the same price of Rs 1100, the company said.

With Friday's allotment , Provogue has raised nearly Rs 934 crore in the last 10 days. After the transaction, the promoter stake in the company will come down from 49 per cent to nearly 46 per cent.

Recently, Provogue's mall development subsidiary, Prozone Enterprises, raised Rs 457 crore from Triangle India Real Estate Fund, promoted by South Africa's Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments (OMIGPI) and Mumbai-based ICS Realty.

Triangle picked up 27 per cent stake in Prozone's special purpose vehicle (SPV) holding four upcoming malls at Aurangabad, Indore, Nagpur and Jaipur.

The funds raised will be utilised for expansion of Prozone.

The proceeds will also used for expansion of the firm's current retail network, setting up of new retail formats, bringing international brands into India, and for general corporate purposes to include acquisitions, the company said.

Funds will be used to develop eight malls in tier-II cities across the country and to add 45 new stores to its netwrork of 120 stores.

Provogue has tied up with UK-based Liberty International for the Prozone, in which Liberty has invested Rs 202 crore. "A premium in Friday's falling markets shows investor confidence in our company and growth plans," said Nikhil Chaturvedi, managing director, Provogue.