<p>India's Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) said on Wednesday it would buy a 51 per cent stake in the Sabyasachi brand, best known for high-end wedding wear favoured by Bollywood celebrities and rich business families.</p>.<p>The deal will see ABFRL inject 3.98 billion rupees ($54.53 million) into Sabyasachi Couture for the stake, ABFRL said in a statement to Indian stock exchanges.</p>.<p>The investment will allow ABFRL to strengthen its position in the largest and one of the fastest-growing fashion segments in the country, allowing it to tap into the luxury markets of clothing, jewellery and accessories, it said.</p>.<p>Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the brand's founder, is one of India's most-famous fashion designers whose intricate and bespoke designs have often been the top wedding-wear choice of movie stars like Priyanka Chopra and the family of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man.</p>.<p>Sabyasachi's designs - though highly priced and out of reach of most middle-class Indians - are often copied and sold at deep discounts in local markets. The Vogue website on Wednesday listed one particular Sabyasachi wedding outfit's price at 395,000 rupees ($5,407).</p>.<p>ABFRL's statement quoted Mukherjee as saying the deal followed his efforts to find the right partner to "ensure continuity and long-term sustainable growth".</p>.<p>ABFRL - which operates more than 3,000 stores in India - also manufactures famous Indian apparel brands and owns a retail chain named Pantaloons. It owns the rights to sell Forever 21, American Eagle Outfitters and Ralph Lauren branded clothes in India.</p>
<p>India's Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) said on Wednesday it would buy a 51 per cent stake in the Sabyasachi brand, best known for high-end wedding wear favoured by Bollywood celebrities and rich business families.</p>.<p>The deal will see ABFRL inject 3.98 billion rupees ($54.53 million) into Sabyasachi Couture for the stake, ABFRL said in a statement to Indian stock exchanges.</p>.<p>The investment will allow ABFRL to strengthen its position in the largest and one of the fastest-growing fashion segments in the country, allowing it to tap into the luxury markets of clothing, jewellery and accessories, it said.</p>.<p>Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the brand's founder, is one of India's most-famous fashion designers whose intricate and bespoke designs have often been the top wedding-wear choice of movie stars like Priyanka Chopra and the family of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man.</p>.<p>Sabyasachi's designs - though highly priced and out of reach of most middle-class Indians - are often copied and sold at deep discounts in local markets. The Vogue website on Wednesday listed one particular Sabyasachi wedding outfit's price at 395,000 rupees ($5,407).</p>.<p>ABFRL's statement quoted Mukherjee as saying the deal followed his efforts to find the right partner to "ensure continuity and long-term sustainable growth".</p>.<p>ABFRL - which operates more than 3,000 stores in India - also manufactures famous Indian apparel brands and owns a retail chain named Pantaloons. It owns the rights to sell Forever 21, American Eagle Outfitters and Ralph Lauren branded clothes in India.</p>