Shree Ganesh Jewellery Drops 36% Below Offer Price in Mumbai Trading Debut

Shree Ganesh Jewellery House Ltd., the Indian maker and exporter of gold jewelry that’s backed by Credit Suisse Group AG, had the worst Mumbai trading debut in almost 18 months, sinking 36.7 percent below its offer price.

The shares, sold at 260 rupees in the IPO, started trading at 258.85 rupees and slid to 164.55 rupees at the close. That’s the most for a new stock since Oct. 13, 2008, when Chemcel Biotech Ltd., an Indian maker of crops pesticides, fell 67 percent on its debut.

Shree Ganesh, based in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, raised 3.16 billion rupees ($71 million) selling 12.14 million new shares last month. Credit Suisse PE Asia Investments (Mauritius) Ltd. sold 2.13 million shares in the offer, cutting its holding to 5.27 percent.

The jewelry maker will use the proceeds to set up two new facilities in the state of West Bengal, expand its existing unit and open retail outlets, according to the offer document.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paresh Jatakia in Mumbai at pareshj@bloomberg.net