Multiples, 360 One among homegrown PEs eyeing a minority stake in VIP Industries

The stake sale is part of ongoing efforts of the promoter family–the Piramals–to exit the business. An attempt to sell controlling stake in the company fell through last November.

The PE firms will buy around 26% stake in the company, likely triggering an open offer, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. “Term sheets have been shared by the prospective investors," one of the persons said. “Finer details of the deals are being discussed."

“Once the company turns around and shows better financial performance, these PE firms are likely to hike their stake in the company, paving the way for the promoters to exit over the medium term," the second person said.

Failed attempts

Last year, the company was in advanced talks with global PE firm Advent International to sell controlling stake, Mint had reported. The deal did not go through due to various reasons including valuation mismatch. 

Also read | VIP promoter revives stake sale talks, hires new banker

Following that, promoter Dilip Piramal revived sale plans and appointed investment bank Arpwood to help it with the stake sale, Mint reported on 28 March.

According to data available with the exchanges, the promoters own a little more than 50% of VIP Industries, the owner of luggage brands such as VIP, Carlton and Skybags. The company’s market capitalization was around ₹6,092.65 crore at Monday’s close on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), valuing the promoters’ stake at about ₹3,046 crore. 

VIP’s stock price stood at ₹429 a share, up 4.94% over Friday compared to a slide of 0.56% in the broader Nifty 50 index.

Queries emailed to Dilip Piramal, Multiples Alternatives, and 360 One did not elicit any response. An Arpwood spokesperson declined to comment.

As per a latest report by Statista, the revenue generated in the luggage and bags market in India amounted to $15.04 billion in 2024. It is expected that the market will experience an annual growth rate of 5.02% (CAGR 2024-2029), with 87% of the sales likely to come from non-luxury products. India’s growing middle class and increasing travel aspirations are driving a surge in demand for premium luggage and bags.

Read this | VIP Industries revives sale talks

Industry giant

With ₹2,178.43 crore in consolidated revenues in FY25, VIP Industries, a brand synonymous with the aspiring Indian traveller of the 1990s, is much larger than its Indian rivals, except Safari Industries, which reported consolidated revenues of ₹1,771.58 crore in the same fiscal. 

VIP has close to 44% market share in the organized luggage category, according to an ICICI Securities analyst report last year. The organized sector, led by companies such as VIP, Samsonite and Safari, accounts for about 40% of India’s ₹15,000-crore luggage industry, according to a report by global analytics firm Crisil last year. 

Over the years, VIP has grown organically and inorganically too. It acquired the London-based Carlton brand in 2004 and merged with Aristocrat Luggage Ltd in 2007, and has been selling luggage under these brands since then.

With new startups emerging in the space to challenge the incumbents, the Indian travel and luggage space is heating up. Earlier this year, Mint reported on how new-age direct to consumer brands such as Mokobara, Assembly, Nasher Miles, Icon and Uppercase have secured funding from risk investors and are looking to disrupt the space.

Rising incomes, an expanding travel infrastructure, and online bookings have fuelled a surge in travel among Indians, resulting in heightened demand for luggage. 

And read | How VIP is trying to shed its baggage