Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, has announced that it has agreed to acquire a significant stake in ownership in Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd., a leading innerwear brand in India.
Dixcy’s Founder and Managing Director, Prem Prakash Sikka, will retain a stake in the company and continue as the Chairman following the completion of the transaction, financial terms of which have not been disclosed.
This is Advent’s fourth investment in India since 2015 following its purchase of equity stakes in Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, QuEST Global Services and the ASK Group.
Located in Tirupur, Dixcy was founded in 1982 by Mr. Sikka with a vision of creating a strong brand that caters to all segments of the innerwear and hosiery market. Today the company is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of several leading innerwear brands, including Dixcy Scott, Dixcy Scott UNO, Dixcy Josh and Dixcy & Slimz. The company also sells a premium range of products, including casual wear such as track pants, shorts and polo T-shirts. Additionally, Dixcy has begun to expand internationally by placing its products in stores across the Middle East and Singapore.
Through its network of more than 1,000 distributors, Dixcy supplies products to over 120,000 retail outlets across the country. Employing over 3,500 people it generated sales of Rs. 7.8 billion ($120 million) in fiscal 2017.
“We are excited to partner with Advent, a leading global investor with good knowledge of the Indian market and significant experience in the retail and consumer sector,” said Prem Prakash Sikka.
Raghul Sikka, Director of Dixcy, observed: “We look forward to working with Advent to further expand the business, following a twin-pronged strategy involving organic growth from the existing offerings and expanding internationally to newer geographies.”
“Dixcy is a well-positioned brand with a strong distribution network in an attractive industry,” said Shweta Jalan, Managing Director and Head of India for Advent International. “The innerwear market in India is expected to grow at double-digit rates over the next five years, driven by increased per capita spending and consumer demand for higher quality products. We see significant opportunities to create value by investing in distribution, sales and product innovation, and improving procurement and production efficiency.”
Advent International has significant investment experience in the retail, consumer and leisure industry. Over the past 27 years, the firm has invested more than $9 billion in 71 companies in the sector worldwide.
Advent has been investing in India for the last 10 years. It opened an office in Mumbai in 2009. Recent investments include those in Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, India’s premier supplier of consumer electrical goods, lighting and lighting automation systems, QuEST, a global engineering solutions provider, and ASK Group, a leading wealth and investment management business.
Dixcy caters to all segments of the market across multiple price points through its focused brands. It has created demand for its collections by offering quality products and securing endorsements from leading Indian film actors such as Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Puneeth Rajkumar and Jiva. Through its network of more than 1,000 distributors, the company supplies products to over 120,000 retail outlets across the country. Over the years, it has transformed itself from an innerwear brand into a broader apparel brand.
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 325 private equity transactions in 40 countries and, as of March 31, 2017, had $39 billion in assets under management.
With a globally integrated team of 190 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, the firm focuses on investments in areas like business and financial services, healthcare, retail, consumer and leisure, media and telecom. After more than 30 years dedicated to international investing, it remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.