PC Jeweller Ltd on Monday said its board has approved allotment of 51.71 crore shares to a consortium of lenders through a preferential issue to settle Rs 1510 crore debt. Meanwhile shares of the company surged in the early trade. The counter opened at Rs 14.09 on the BSE against the previous close of Rs 13.41. It gained further to touch the high of Rs 14.19. At the time of writing the report the counter held firmly in green and was trading at Rs 13.82. This is a gain of 3.06 per cent from the previous close. In a regulatory filing PC Jeweller Ltd stated that the Board of Directors of the company approved the allotment of 517114620 equity shares by way of preferential allotment on private placement basis to a consortium of lenders comprising 14 banks. The shares have been issued at Rs 29.20 per share. The shares will be issued for settling part of their outstanding debts pursuant to Joint Settlement Agreement dated September 30 2024 entered into amongst the company and Consortium Lenders. The new equity shares so allotted to consortium lenders would rank pari-passu with the existing equity shares of the company. PC Jeweller had opted for OTS (one-time settlement) for its outstanding dues with a consortium of banks. The terms and conditions of approved OTS include cash and equity components payable under the settlement release of securities and mortgaged properties etc. PC Jeweller Ltd reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 147.96 crore for the latest December quarter. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 197.98 crore for the year-ago period. Total income jumped multi-fold to Rs 683.44 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal from Rs 43.48 crore in the year-ago period. PC Jeweller has 55 showrooms (including 3 franchisee showrooms) in 41 cities across 15 states in India. (With PTI Inputs)