GRT Jewellers to Acquire 74% Stake in TBZ for Rs 1,033 Crore

Shares of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri hit an upper circuit on Tuesday for a second consecutive day as GRT Jewellers India Private Ltd proposed to acquire a 74 per cent controlling stake in the company from its existing promoters in an all-cash deal worth Rs 1,033 crore, triggering an open offer for the jewellery retailer's public shareholders.

TBZ has said in an exchange filing that it had received a copy of the detailed public statement from Axis Capital -- acting on behalf of GRT Jewellers -- in connection with the open offer. The open offer is for up to 1,72,70,845 fully paid-up equity shares, representing 25.88 per cent of TBZ's voting share capital. The transaction will give GRT control of TBZ, a jeweller founded in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar in 1864. The company has expanded from a single store to 37 stores across 28 cities, mainly in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In addition, TBZ derives roughly 65 per cent of its revenue from wedding and occasion-related jewellery purchases.

The proposed acquisition marks a change in control of a business that has remained in family ownership for more than 160 years. Founded in 1964, GRT Jewellers is a jewellery retailer with operations in India and abroad. The public offer gives TBZ's public shareholders an opportunity to sell their shares following the change in control. Following this, shares of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri hit the upper circuit of Rs 545.70 on the BSE, an increase of 4.99 per cent which is also their highest level in 52 weeks, extending gains after hitting a Rs 519.75 upper circuit on Monday. The stock has recorded a 52-week low of Rs 110.95. In the last one-year horizon, the stock has given a return of more than 190 per cent, according to the BSE data.

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