Lalithaa Jewellery Mart Ltd. is planning to restart investor roadshows for its initial public offering (IPO), two people familiar with the matter said, months after the company unofficially paused its ₹1,700-crore share sale amid media scrutiny over promoter remuneration, corporate governance and structural metrics.
“We are doing an internal review of the previous regulatory filing, and roadshows might start in a month or two,” a person working on the transaction told Mint, asking not to be identified because the information is private. “The financial metrics and valuation expectations will be recalculated to align with current public market benchmarks and volatile input costs,” this person said.
The Chennai-based jeweller had originally submitted its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in June 2025. Although it secured regulatory approval to proceed with in October 2025, the transaction timelines were deferred.
“The 12-month regulatory deadline still holds, but we can’t do roadshows with FY25 numbers any more,” the person quoted above added.
Media reports at the time highlighted how related-party transactions pertaining to the payment of brand ambassador fees to its promoter had been flagged by proxy advisors as conflict of interest. That said, the brand ambassador deal with the promoter has since been terminated, and the controversial fees did not feature on the company’s statements starting FY25.
Legal overhang
on 27 June 2025 that the company was drawing attention due to legal and regulatory proceedings amounting to more than ₹600 crore against it and its promoter. A tax demand worth more than ₹1,000 crore is also under litigation, according to the 2025 DRHP. These numbers amount to more than four times the ₹360 crore profit reported in FY24. The company, however, expects the tax demand to drop by more than ₹600 crore, once the requisite order is issued by the appropriate authorities.
Anand Rathi Advisors Ltd and Equirus Capital Pvt remain engaged as book-running lead managers for the upcoming refiling.
Queries emailed to Lalithaa Jewellery on 8 June remained unanswered till press time.
“The first transaction stalled internally because underwriters could not re-adjust valuation benchmarks with institutional funds after media pushback on the offer,” a second person aware of the transaction said, also asking not to be identified. “Gold was also on a bull run, which, while raising sales, also raised input costs and simultaneously dampened consumer sentiment.”
For some context, starting from the final quarter of 2025, gold prices saw a few months of skyrocketing prices, rising from approximately ₹1,30,000 per 10 grams in October 2025 to peak levels in early 2026. Driven by geopolitical tensions and central bank purchases, the spot rate for 24-karat gold reached close to ₹1,70,000 per 10 grams by March 2026.
Following a price correction in mid-March that reduced rates to approximately ₹1,56,000, prices consolidated at these levels through the second quarter of calendar 2026.
This pricing baseline was sustained by physical demand surrounding the wedding calendar and Akshaya Tritiya, leaving spot prices for 24-karat gold trading between ₹1,52,000 and ₹157,000 per 10 grams in early June 2026.
The revised public offering will serve as a test for investor appetite within the organized retail gold sector, where Lalithaa Jewellery competes against Titan Co., Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd., and Senco Gold Ltd.
According to the DRHP, Lalithaa’s revenue has increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% from ₹6,083 crore in FY17 to ₹16,788 crore in FY24. The company clocked ₹16,901 crore in sales in FY25.
The firm’s revenue in the first half (April-September) of FY26 stood at ₹11,316 crore, according to a 19 February report by ratings agency Icra, which said that sales figures were supported by a sharp increase in .
“Although volumes declined in FY2025 due to weak market sentiments, there was a slight rebound during the first half of FY2026,” the report added.
“The entity’s ability to maintain a healthy turnover and mobilise customer advance through jewellery purchase schemes relatively limit its working capital requirements … Similar to other players in the industry, Lalithaa’s earnings remain exposed to fluctuations in gold prices,” it said.
Currently, Lalithaa Jewellery derives 70-75% of its revenues from the sale of gold jewellery, around 20% from bullion sales and the balance from silverware, diamonds and other segments.