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Kishore Biyani is betting big on Future Lifestyle Fashion

Kishore Biyani is betting big on Future Lifestyle Fashion, the fashion business carved out of Future Retail (formerly Pantaloons) with a portfolio of over 40 fashion and lifestyle brands. The company recorded a profit of ₹6 crore in the March quarter of FY15 against a net loss of ₹187 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year, thanks to lower expenses. Against this backdrop, the promoter, through group entities Future Corporate Resources and Future Ideas Company, bought 61.4 lakh shares from the open market recently. Following the purchase, the overall promoter holding has increased from 57.1 % to 60.3%. Incidentally, private equity firm ICICI Venture sold its 1.15% stake (21.4 lakh shares) for ₹17.5 crore in May. The shares were bought by Morgan Stanley’s portfolio investment arm. The stock is marginally up 2% at ₹85 levels, after hitting a 52-week high of ₹109. Though top-line and Ebitda growth was healthy in Q4FY15, whether the momentum will continues in FY16 remains to be seen.