Shoppers Stop to raise Rs 300 cr through QIP

In a bid to fuel its growth, retailer Shoppers Stop has proposed to raise Rs 300-crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) over the next two quarters, a top company official said today.

"We are in talks with investors and analysts and will make an announcement on the same over the next two-months. We will take a call depending upon the prevailing market conditions," Shoppers Stop's Vice-Chairman, B S Nagesh, told reporters at the re-launch of its first store here.

It is also planning to invest Rs 100-120 crore to open 12 more Shoppers Stop outlets and four Hypercity stores in this fiscal.

The Hypercity stores would be coming up at Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Mumbai, Nagesh said. The company plans to increase number of Hypercity stores from 7 to 25 in the next three years and expects them to break-even in FY 2013.
    
The BSE-listed retail chain of the K Raheja Group, holds a 19 per cent stake in Hypercity. It now intends to up its stake by 32 per cent by the end of this month.
    
"The Board had already approved the buy-out and we will pick-up an additional 32 per cent stake to have a majority stake of 51 per cent in Hypercity by June 30," Nagesh said, adding that the buy-out would cost the company Rs 125-crore.
    
He said that Shoppers Stop was eying a double digit growth this fiscal and expected a 20 per cent jump in same-store sales in this quarter as against the year-ago period.