Ethnic wear retail store chain, Fabindia Overseas Private Limited, has hired five investment banks ahead of its initial public offering (IPO). The five banks - ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, and Nomura - have been appointed to help the company raise between $750 million and $1 billion.

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Fabindia is expected to submit its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Sebi by November, according to a Hindustan Times report. The company is expected to sell about 25-30 percent stake to the public "in a mixture of primary and secondary share sales", according to an unnamed source quoted by HT.

While the issue size is likely to be $500 million, the IPO valuation has not yet been decided by the company. However, according to media reports, Fabindia is exploring an IPO at a $2 billion valuation.

During the IPO, PremjiInvest, an investor in Fabindia, is expected to sell some part of its stake in the company. The company is backed by a battery of investors, including Lighthouse Funds (funds managed by Axis Alternative Asset Management), Kotak Securities, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani.

So far, 38 companies - highest for any year in a decade - have rolled out their IPOs this year, raising more than Rs 60,000 crore.

In FY20, the sales of Fabindia rose by 2.3 percent to Rs 1,508 crore from Rs 1,474 crore in the previous year. The company has not disclosed its earnings for FY21 - when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.

Fabindia has 311 stores across 118 cities in the country and 14 international stores. The company sells garments, home furnishings, furniture, gifts, jewellery, organic food, and personal care products.