Wearables brand Boat gets SEBI's nod for ₹1,500cr IPO
What's the story
Imagine Marketing, the parent firm of popular Indian wearables brand boAt, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO). The company's updated prospectus shows that it plans to raise ₹1,500 crore through this move. The IPO will include a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to ₹500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating up to ₹1,000 crore by existing shareholders.
Share distribution
Major shareholders to offload their stakes
The OFS will include equity shares worth ₹75 crore by Sameer Ashok Mehta, ₹225 crore by Aman Gupta, and ₹500 crore by South Lake Investment Limited. Further, Fireside Ventures Investment Fund-I and Qualcomm Ventures LLC will sell shares worth ₹150 crore and ₹50 crore respectively. The company plans to use the net proceeds from this IPO for working capital requirements (₹225 crore), brand and marketing expenses (₹150 crore), as well as general corporate purposes.
Past attempts
Boat's 2nd attempt at going public
This is Boat's second attempt at going public. The company had earlier filed draft papers in January 2022 for a ₹2,000 crore IPO. It returned to profitability in FY25 with a consolidated net profit of ₹60 crore after two years of losses. The Gurugram-based firm reported consolidated revenue of ₹3,097.8 crore due to its continued market leadership in audio products, growth in wearables segment, and traction from new businesses.
Offer details
ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs to manage public issue
Founded in 2013 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, Boat has a diverse product range from audio products to wearables, grooming products, and mobile accessories. The company's public issue will be managed by ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, JM Financial and Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities (India) Pvt Ltd.