Chemplast Sanmar

By Abigail Summerville

NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - In a deal that attracted little interest from Wall Street, the owner of popular yoga clothing maker Alo agreed to sell its wholesale T-shirt division Bella+Canvas last month.

Alo and its founders have not talked about the brand's future, but equities analysts and retail M&A advisers argue the deal primes Alo for a future public offering or sale as industry pioneer Lululemon LULU.O struggles and new competitors circle.

The sale of Bella+Canvas, which has not closed yet, would give founders Danny Harris and Marco DeGeorge more flexibility and options for Alo, creating a focused, high-end athleisurewear business in an increasingly competitive market, said Neil Saunders, managing director at research firm GlobalData Retail.

"Alo is a mature business, so it's at the stage where you generally do something with it. You IPO it, you sell it off, you launch something else alongside it to grow another complementary area to Alo," Saunders said.

Harris and DeGeorge, the publicity-shy billionaires behind Alo, have not publicly talked about whether they are considering a sale or public offering. Bella+Canvas's announcement of its sale did not disclose its affiliation to Alo and was no longer available on its website shortly after Reuters emailed asking about it last month.

Alo and Bella+Canvas did not return requests for comment. A spokesperson for SanMar, which agreed to buy Bella+Canvas for an undisclosed sum, said there have been no changes since the May 18 announcement that terms for a deal had been reached.

CELEBRITY APPEAL

Harris and DeGeorge grew Bella+Canvas into one of the largest makers of T-shirts and apparel for wholesalers in the U.S. after founding it in 1992 out of a garage. It is the lesser-known, but longtime reliable revenue stream, of Alo Yoga's parent company Color Image Apparel Inc.

Alo, short for air, land and ocean, grew into a yoga and sportswear powerhouse since the duo launched it almost 20 years ago in Los Angeles. Celebrities like Taylor Swift, Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber have been spotted running errands and doing pilates in Alo gear.

As its popularity grew, so did its sales and earnings, which led it to eventually overtake Bella+Canvas as the bigger business, a person familiar with the company said.

By shedding Bella+Canvas, Alo becomes an easier company for potential buyers or investors to understand and value, making it a far simpler sale or IPO process, a dozen retail analysts, M&A advisers and investors said.

If it decides to sell or go public, it would not be the first time the company has solicited outside capital. It held talks with several private equity firms and other potential investors in 2023 as it sought its first investment partner in a deal that could have valued it at roughly $10 billion, Reuters reported at the time.

The feedback from Wall Street: Bella+Canvas didn't add much value and only complicated the company's story for investors, sources said at the time. No deal was announced.

"It makes sense to clean up the model and financials for investors," said Cristina Fernández, a managing director and senior research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.

LEGGINGS TO LUXURY

Since its founding in 2007 as a yoga clothing line, Alo has expanded into skincare products, footwear, beauty and wellness. It has been increasingly targeting the luxury market, launching a $3,600 leather duffel bag last year.

It competes head-to-head with industry leader Lululemon, as well as several younger athleisure brands pushing for dominance, including Vuori, Fabletics and Gymshark. Those three brands have been considering initial public offerings in recent years, according to news reports.

Sales of yoga pants and sweatsuits surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers sought comfier clothes while working from home. New competitors entered the market just as corporate bosses started requiring more employees to return to the office, shifting consumer tastes away from loungewear.

"[Athleisure] certainly peaked during the pandemic. Since then, it has lost a little bit of its casualwear share and a lot of that is due to the huge resurgence we've seen in denim," said Sky Canaves, a principal analyst at Emarketer. "More broadly we're seeing a period of normalization in athleisure wear growth in the U.S."

The shift has been felt at Lululemon where the company's weak performance over several quarters prompted an acrimonious fight with founder Chip Wilson. Lululemon's stock has dropped 50% year-to-date, giving it a market valuation of about $12 billion.

Wilson argued that the company had "lost its cool" and blamed the board for the falling share prices, while the board accused Wilson of outdated perspectives and attacks that damaged the brand. The two sides reached a settlement last month.

Founder-owned companies typically bring in institutional investors before an IPO to set a benchmark valuation to later justify what they want from public investors. But they can also list without outside capital.

And Alo's co-founders appear to have a clear sense of what type of capital they want: In the Bella+Canvas deal announcement, DeGeorge said, "It was paramount to my partner and me that Bella+Canvas joins a privately held, family-owned company rather than private equity."

Harris and DeGeorge own Color Image Apparel outright, having grown the company without any outside institutional investors. Forbes estimates they are worth $3.7 billion each.

Alo currently has more than 150 stores globally, with yoga studios offering classes in some locations and an invite-only gym at its Beverly Hills headquarters where celebrities train in the company's best-selling $100-plus leggings.

"Alo is a little more exclusive and higher end with stronger ties to luxury that really speak to the affluent or highly aspirational consumer," Canaves said. "Their most recent campaign was with a super yacht in the French Riviera."

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York. Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Deepa Babington)

(([email protected]))

May 28 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• COMMENCES COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION FROM PHASE III AT BERIGAI

Source text: ID:nBSE9vbrf1

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

May 25 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL LOSS AFTER TAX 453.8 MILLION RUPEES

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 12.56 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE4rNkry

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

March 20 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• APPOINTS A R BALAJI AS CFO EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2026

Source text: ID:nBSE7ZqPBd

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

May 13 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL LOSS AFTER TAX 541.7 MILLION RUPEES

• MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 11.51 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9jpp9F

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD - TO ACQUIRE EQUITY SHARES OF JSW GREEN ENERGY NINE

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD - JSW GREEN ENERGY NINE TO SET UP RENEWABLE POWER PLANTS IN TAMIL NADU

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR - ACQUISITION COST 213.8 MILLION RUPEES FOR CO, 90.5 MILLION RUPEES FOR UNIT

Source text: ID:nBSE6KqtTJ

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Shares of specialty chemicals co Chemplast Sanmar CHPA.NS rise as much as 2.2% to 516.35 rupees, last up 1.3%

** Co starts commercial production from its multi-purpose production block at chemicals division in Berigai, Tamil Nadu

** CHPA on track for third straight session of gains, if trends hold

** Avg rating of analysts covering CHPA at "strong buy" vs "buy" rating for peers Sudarshan Chemical Industries SDCH.NS and Navin Fluorine International NAFL.NS - LSEG data

** CHPA's median PT is at 577.50 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock up ~2% so far this year vs ~105% surge in SDCH and ~13% fall in NAFL

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR - STARTS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION FROM BLOCK AT CHEMICALS DIVISION IN BERIGAI

Source text: ID:nBSE886dMB

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL LOSS AFTER TAX 312.6 MILLION RUPEES

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 9.93 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEb0y7lP

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))

June 24 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• APPROVED RAISING OF FUNDS

• APPROVED RAISING OF FUNDS WORTH UPTO 10 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4nTXGV

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS rise as much as 5% to 610 rupees

** Specialty chemicals maker says it will consider raising funds by issuing shares or any other securities in board meeting on June 24

** Stock on track to gain after 2 days of losses

** More than 591,000 shares traded as of 1:39 p.m. IST, 2.3% higher than their 30-day moving avg of 578,292 share

** CHPA last up 1.7%, adding to YTD gains of 18.3%

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

June 19 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• TO CONSIDER RAISING OF FUNDS

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEc72mVK

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

May 20 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL LOSS AFTER TAX 311.3 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS PROFIT 460.8 MILLION RUPEES

• MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 10.51 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 11.47 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of DCW DCWL.NS, DCM Shriram DCMS.NS and Chemplast Sanmar CHPA.NS rise between 1% and 6%, on the day

** Rise after India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiates anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of poly vinyl chloride (PVC) suspension resins originating in or exported from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and U.S.

** Applications seeking anti-dumping probe filed by DCW, DCM Shriram and Chemplast Sanmar, alleging dumping of PVC resins, according to DGTR

** DCW, DCM Shriram and Chemplast are the major domestic producers of PVC resins

** YTD, DCW down 6.8%, DCM Shriram has fallen nearly 15% and Chemplast is down 11% - LSEG data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION FROM PASTE PVC FACILITY AT SIPCOT INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX COMMENCED ON 27 FEB

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE8lyFR5

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• INDIA'S CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL PAT 260.5 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS PROFIT 385.4 MILLION RUPEES

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 9.88 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 11.94 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEHMhYS

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD- SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT TO MANUFACTURE PIPELINE ACTIVE INGREDIENT

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD - COMMERCIAL SUPPLIES ARE EXPECTED TO START FROM CY 2025

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD- COMMERCIAL SUPPLIES ARE EXPECTED TO START FROM CY 2025

• CHEMPLAST SANMAR LTD- LOI COVERS A PERIOD OF 5 YEARS

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEbNDrbt

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION AT BERIGAI FACILITY STARTED PRODUCTION

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE8t1T6N

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

July 14 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CUSTOM MANUFACTURED CHEMICALS DIVISION OF CO SELECTED AS SUPPLIER TO MANUFACTURE AN ACTIVE INGREDIENT

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE5HyDXK

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))

May 16 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• SANMAR MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL PAT 460.8 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS 2.32 BILLION RUPEES

• MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 11.47 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 18.07 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];))

May 11 (Reuters) - Chemplast Sanmar Ltd CHPA.NS:

• CUSTOM MANUFACTURED CHEMICALS DIVISION OF CO SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT WITH GLOBAL AGROCHEMICAL INNOVATOR

• LETTER OF INTENT TO MANUFACTURE AN ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE34YRfG

Further company coverage: CHPA.NS

(([email protected];;))