A group of investors led by private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management has struck a deal to pick up a controlling stake in luggage manufacturing company VIP Industries Ltd.
Multiples PE, along with Enam Group’s Akash Bhanshali, CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti and his brother Siddhartha Sacheti, will buy a 31.89% stake in VIP from the company’s promoter Dilip Piramal and family for Rs 1,763.32 crore ($205 million).
The transaction has triggered an open offer by the investor consortium to buy up to 26% of VIP from its public shareholders for as much as Rs 1,437.78 crore, according to stock-exchange filings.
The open offer has been made at Rs 388 per share. Shares of VIP were trading 1.9% in morning trade on Monday at Rs 447.60 apiece on the BSE. The shares have surged almost 80% since touching a one-year low of Rs 248.55 on April 7 but are still below the one-year high of Rs 589.95 apiece in September last year.
Renuka Ramnath-led Multiples PE is investing in VIP through its fourth fund. “Multiples is excited to lead the ownership transition of the very strong legacy business of VIP and further build on its rich heritage and unlock its next phase of growth,” Ramnath said.
Under the terms of the deal, the Multiples PE-led consortium will initially acquire a 5.89% stake in VIP from its promoters and purchase an additional stake of up to 26% in the second phase. However, this will depend on the success of the open offer. If public shareholders tender 26% shares in the open offer, the consortium will not buy any additional stake from the promoters.
Effectively, this means that the total stake of the investor consortium after the entire transaction and open offer are completed won't exceed 31.89%. Of this, the PE firm will own a 22.84% stake while Bhanshali will control 8.41% and the Sacheti brothers will own 0.32% each.
This, in turn, means that Multiples PE, which closed its fourth fund last year after raising more than Rs 7,000 crore, would be investing around Rs 1,263.31 crore ($147 million) in VIP.
VIP’s promoter group owned a 51.73% stake as of March 31. “This marks an important step toward reviving the company’s strong legacy and helping it regain its foothold in the Indian luggage market, where it has struggled in recent years,” Piramal said in a statement.
VIP’s net sales slipped by around 3% in 2024-25 to Rs 2,178.4 crore. Its revenue has remained in the Rs 2,000-2,200 crore range since FY23. VIP slipped into a net loss of 81.4 crore in FY25 from a profit of around Rs 2 crore in the previous year. The luggage maker has been facing stiff competition in the recent past from new-age startups and the unorganized sector, apart from peers such as Safari Industries, American Tourister and Samsonite.
Khaitan & Company advised Multiples PE on the deal, while Anagram Partners acted as their legal advisor. Arpwood Capital advised Dilip Piramal and family, while AZB & Partners were the legal advisor to the family.
