Kishore Biyani’s Future Group may raise $ 1bn via IPO

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Retailers are gearing up to put themselves on offer. First it was Vishal Retail and now its Spencer and Kishore Biyani's Future Group that are planning to go public. India's retail king Kishore Biyani is out - shopping for funds. And he's looking for no less than $ 1 billion - all from Dalal Street. Sources tell that Biyani is exploring the possibility of listing his group of retail companies - the Future Group. They say that merchant bankers Kotak, Enam and JM Financial have already been mandated to lead the offer.

When contacted, Future Group CEO, Kishore Biyani denied the possibility of taking Future Group public. But he clarified that hiving off Pantaloon 's mall format Central, as a separate listed entity is work-in-progress.

But Central alone may not get Biyani the bucks that he is looking for. And so it is speculated that he might spin off the Future Group as a whole new holding company which owns some of Pantaloon Retail's existing subsidiaries, formats and JVs. Interestingly, over the past few years Pantaloon Retail has also been referred to as Future Group. Pantaloon Retail entails 9 subsidiaries, 8 joint venture partnerships and 10 retail chains like Food Bazaar, Big Bazaar and Central.

Analysts speculate that Biyani may be looking to split his network of companies into 2. One half they say could be Pantaloon Retail and the other half - Future Group. It is possible that the 'to be listed - Central' and Biyani's durable and furnishing venture Home Solutions will be hived off under the Future Group umbrella. And to do that Biyani has put in place a legal team to structure his holdings. Also re- structuring the group could be investment bankers and lead managers for Future Group's IPO - Kotak, Enam and JM Financial. Biyani is expected to announce Future Group's $ 1 billion IPO in September.