Imagine Marketing Ltd, owner of consumer electronic brand BoAt, has filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise Rs 2,000-crore in an initial public offering (IPO). Boat becomes the latest company to test the waters in fundraising via IPO.
2021 witnessed a spree of companies listing to Indian bourses at higher valuations, raising concerns for investors.
BoAt was founded in 2016 and is New-Delhi based. It is backed by marquee investors such as Fireside Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures LLC and South Lake Investment Ltd, an affiliate of the Warburg Pincus Group.
The IPO consists of fresh issue equity shares worth Rs 900 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating Rs 1,100 crore by its existing promoters and shareholders.
Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta are offering their shares worth Rs 150 crore each for sale, while South Lake Investment Ltd will be offloading shares worth Rs 800 crore.
Mehta and Gupta own nearly 40.05 percent stake each in the company, while South Lake Investment has a 19.32 percent stake.
The proceeds from the initial-share sale worth Rs 700 crore will be used for paying debts. As of December 2021, the company had total secured and unsecured loans of Rs 764.18 crore.
Boat has emerged as a leading market player in terms of volume and value across multiple, high-growth consumer categories such as audio and smartwatch.
The firm offers products catering to different price points and customer segments across multiple product categories.
In the audio segment, it offers wired headphones and earphones, wireless headphones and earphones (neckbands), true wireless stereo (TWS), Bluetooth speakers and home theatre systems and soundbars.
It has tapped the gaming accessories segment as well, in which it offers wired and wireless headsets, mouse and keyboards. Besides, it sells smartwatches.
Customers can also buy personal care appliances such as trimmers and grooming kits from BoAt.
The company also offers mobile accessories such as chargers, cables, power banks among others.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, BoAt led the wireless wearables brands by value and volume in India. It stood second among smartwatch brands in India in terms of volume.
For fiscal 21, the firm posted an income of Rs 1320.38 crore from Rs 609.96 crore in FY20. Net profit stood at Rs 86.54 crore, higher than Rs 47.80 crore in FY20.
For the trailing six months ending September 2021, BoAt had a total income of Rs 1553.15 crore and a net profit of Rs 118.32 crore.
For the IPO, Axis Capital, BofA Securities, Credit Suisse Securities India and ICICI Securities are the book-running lead managers.