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| Gitanjali Gems plans to acquire Italian jewellery house |
| Dilip Kumar Jha / Mumbai Aug 31, 2010, 00:34 IST |
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Gitanjali Gems, the country’s largest integrated diamond and jewellery manufacturer and retailer, plans to acquire a leading Italian jewellery house by the end of next month.
“We are looking to acquire 100 per equity in a leading Italian jewellery house, which has presence across Europe and Arabian markets. Talks are in an advanced stage and the final decision will be taken by the end of next month,” said Chairman Mehul Choksi said. Gitanjali Gems runs over 130 retail jewellery shops in the US and 2,500 sales points in India.
The Italian brand acquisition will help it to penetrate global markets and introduce new jewellery designs with light weight, especially in European and the Middle East markets, where it had earlier failed to gain foothold.
If the deal materialises, this would be third mega acquisition by Gitanjali Gems. It had acquired after Samuels Jewelers and Rogers, both US-based, in 2007.
 “We are currently in the process of evaluating their factory, retail chains and distribution networks to conclude feasibility study on valuation. The process will overcome soon to clear the road leading to final decision,” Choksi said.
Although Choksi did not divulge the name of the target company or the size of acquisition, an industry source said the company was DIT Group, known for its three celebrated jewellery brands — Io Si, Porrati and Nouvelle Bague.
The Italian group, highly regarded for its wealth of knowledge in the contemporary luxury sector, has over 600 stockists across 30 countries.
Gitanjali Gems, the manufacturer and retailer of India’s leading jewellery brands like Nakshatra, Gili, D’Damas, Asmi, Gitanjali, Sangini, Gianti - store, Dia etc, plans to introduce each brand as a separate entity, with a minimum of 50 retail stores in India in a couple of years.
“We are present in the most jewellery consumption market i.e. the US, China, Japan, the Middle East. But we want to expand our presence throughout the world and the current acquisition plan is a step in that direction,” he added.
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