mumbaikolkata manyavar owner vedant fashions has joined the fray to discuss a possible acquisition of ethnic womenswear brand soch in a deal valued at slightly over rs 1000 crore kolkatabased vedant fashions is tapping private equity investors to pull off the biggest consolidation move in the domestic fashion industry people with direct knowledge of the matter said if successful the dealmaking would provide vedant a strong presence in the womenswear market where it has been trying to build a brand called mohey one of the most profitable indian fashion companies vedant has around rs 550 crore in top line revenue while soch reportedly closed last fiscal with about rs 350 crore the bengaluruheadquartered md retail the parent of soch has been in parallel talks with private equity investors and vedant fashions for a share sale though some investors will be keen on investing in a merged entity sources saidin january this year toi reported that three investors l catterton westbridge capital and cx partners are in the fray to buy a controlling stake in soch the deal talks are still midway and the final outcome cannot be predicted when contacted a senior official at vedant fashions declined to comment on the matter soch ceo vinay chatlani said he would not comment on speculationindian ethnic fashion wear which has embraced western styles in recent past to create fusion brands has been galloping at 20 compounded annual growth rate womenswear accounts for 85 of the heavily fragmented rs 80000crore ethnic fashion market and is buoyed by the rising disposable incomes among women ethic fashion sales are largely driven by occasion and celebration sales but the recent move to adapt western trends is beginning to push some brands into office wear as wellentrepreneur ravi modi founded manyavar 18 years ago with a single store in kolkata it currently operates 400plus stores across 170 locations and could be valued at over rs 2500 crore or 400 million according to recent media reports soch founded by the chatlani family has a store footprint across 80 locations mostly in southern and western states and was seeking a valuation of around rs 1300 crore or slightly over 200 million investment bank o3 capital has been advising soch on the share sale processthe surging investor interest in ethnic and fusion brands has rendered dealmaking expensive especially after ta associates pumped in 140 million for a minority interest in womens fashion brand w last year other recent deals in the domestic womenswear market include warburg pincus investment in biba everstone capital buying into ritu kumar and general atlantics stake purchase in anita dongresources said vedant is discussing a private placement of shares with two investors to finance the transaction but it may go ahead with a small share sale to private equity investors irrespective of the deal outcome the lowprofile ravi modi has resisted investor overtures in the past citing highly profitable operations manyavar boasts of being a brand which doesnt offer discounts and tightly manages expenses manyavar did