Warburg Pincus to Help Kalyan Jewellers Scale Candere With Up To 850 Cr Investment

New York-based private equity giant Warburg Pincus is reportedly planning to return to Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd with a large investment. The PE firm, which once held as much as a 30% stake in the jewellery retailer, fully exited it in 2024.

But, according to a report by the Economic Times (ET), Warburg Pincus is in talks with Kalyan to buy about a 10% stake in one of its subsidiaries, Candere. They want to invest about ₹800-850 crore for the omnichannel lifestyle jeweller.

As per the report, the private equity firm is expected to acquire a portion of the stake directly from Kalyan Jewellers and the remaining will come through purchasing newly created shares in Candere. The funds raised from these new share issuances will support Candere's expansion strategy, as per ET report citing sources.

Kalyan Jewellers has been aggressively growing its retail network, including plans to open approximately 80-90 new Candere locations nationwide using a franchise business model. Its financial results for the quarter ending June 30 showed Candere generated ₹66 crore in revenue, representing a 67% year-over-year increase. However, the brand's net losses expanded to ₹10 crore compared to ₹2 crore in the previous year.

Despite the current losses, company leadership projects that Candere will reach profitability by March 31, 2026, marking the end of the current fiscal year.

"Over the last 12 to 18 months, we have been giving shape to our plans to expand the distribution network beyond the mainstream Kalyan Jewellers. Candere was identified as a second format with predominant focus on lightweight lifestyle jewellery and we added more than 70 Candere showrooms in the last 18 months," Kalyan Jewellers executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman told analysts during the quarterly earnings call on August 7.

Since its establishment in 2013 as a digital jewelry platform, Candere's market value has increased significantly. Kalyan Jewellers acquired the company from Singularity Strategic, the investment vehicle of Brijesh Chandwani and Subram Kapoor,  with a valuation of about ₹35-40 crore in 2017. First it bought a controlling 85% interest, then the final 15% shareholding from original founder Rupesh Jain. Since then it has been converting Candere from a purely digital business into a multi-channel retail operation.

Warburg Pincus initially entered Kalyan Jewellers through a ₹1,200 crore investment in 2014, followed by an additional ₹500 crore injection three years later. Prior to the company's 2021 public offering, the private equity investor maintained approximately 30% ownership, though it reduced this position during the IPO. Warburg Pincus completed its exit in August 2024, disposing of a 2.36% holding to promoter TS Kalyanaraman while selling the remaining 6.81% through institutional block trading.

For the three months ended June 30, Kalyan Jewellers reported consolidated revenues of ₹7,268 crore, marking a 31% annual increase despite intermittent demand disruptions caused by fluctuating gold prices and global political uncertainties. Net earnings jumped 48% to ₹264 crore during this period.