Blackstone polishes its diamond bet to perfection
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
By Shritama Bose
MUMBAI, Sept 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) -Blackstone BX.N is grabbing at some of the sparkle from India’s booming equities market. Steve Schwarzman's investment firm plans to list a certifier of diamonds at a valuation seven times what it paid last year to buy the company from China's Fosun International 0656.HK and Belgium's Lorie family. Listing the business in the world's second-largest market for the rock makes sense, and will bag the U.S. buyout firm a sparkling return.
International Gemmological Institute certifies one-third of the world’s diamonds, studded jewellery and coloured stones, according to its prospectus. Most of its clients are based in the cutting and polishing hubs of Mumbai and neighbouring Gujarat state, and nearly all of its top line originates in the country.
Crucially, IGI will use almost a third of some $470 million IPO proceeds to buy its units in the Netherlands and Belgium, where IGI was founded in 1975, from Blackstone. After the rejig, the private equity giant will remain the controlling shareholder and the company will become an Indian-led entity. That helps IGI list in the South Asian country and target a valuation of $4 billion, as Moneycontrol reported last month, citing an unnamed source.
That headline figure looks polished, rather than punchy. It equates to 68 times EBITDA for 2023. None of IGI’s peers - the nonprofit Gemological Institute of America and Belgium’s HRD Antwerp among them - have publicly traded shares. Indian bling sellers Titan TITN.NS , backed by the Tata Group, and Kalyan Jewellers KALN.NS, are adorned with multiples of 64 and 54 times EBITDA.
IGI is growing fast and is more profitable than both those Indian companies. Its top line grew 30% in 2023, outpacing Titan and just shy of Kalyan's 32% growth in the year to the end of March. The diamond company's 37% net profit margin for 2023 is five times that of Titan and more than 10 times Kalyan's.
Unlike certifiers, jewellers have a more diversified range of products that could see them through periods of poor demand for studded pieces and price downturns. And while India is experiencing a surge in its love for diamonds, displacing China as the top buyer of the natural variety, Indians have cared little so far for the lab-grown variety of the gem, which accounts for 60% of IGI’s revenue.
Nonetheless, with rosy projections laid out in IGI's prospectus for a double-digit rise in jewellery consumption over the next five years, Blackstone's polishing up of its diamond bet appears well-timed.
Follow @ShritamaBose on X
CONTEXT NEWS
Blackstone is eyeing a valuation of around $4 billion for jewellery certifier International Gemmological Institute in a Mumbai initial public offering, news website Moneycontrol reported on Aug. 27, citing an unnamed source.
The offer will comprise new shares worth up to 12.5 billion rupees ($149 million) and existing shares worth up to 27.5 billion rupees ($328 million), per the draft prospectus.
Graphic: India's share of jewellery sales is rising https://reut.rs/4gqWsSQ
Editing by Una Galani and Ujjaini Dutta
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
