A popular wearables and audio device company, 'Boat' has chosen ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura as its bankers for its upcoming USD 300-USD 500 million public offering, as reported by the Economic Times.
The New Delhi-based tech unicorn might aim for a valuation of more than USD 1.5 billion, though the actual valuation figure might change in the days leading up to the initial public offering.
Boat's previous attempt for IPO
Boat obtained USD 60 million in private funding through convertible preferred stock from investors Warburg Pincus and Malabar Investments at a minimum valuation of USD 1.2 billion after first filing for a public offering in 2022 but pausing because of unfavourable market conditions.
According to the sources, the IPO will be led by ICICI Securities. Boat announced a 5 per cent decline in revenue to Rs 3,285 crore for FY24 while halving its losses to Rs 70.8 crore when the public issue was announced. Despite the sluggish performance of the wearables industry, Boat saw a spike in sales during the Diwali season and recorded positive EBITDA.
Cautious about listing valuation over private valuation
Despite Swiggy's better-than-expected debut on stock exchanges with its USD 1.3 billion IPO on Wednesday, a number of innovative companies have gone public this year, including FirstCry, Ola Electric, Awfis, and others. Many of these companies have been cautious about their listing price in comparison to their most recent private valuation.
Debuts of new-age tech companies
Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry.com)
On August 13, Brainbees Solutions Ltd., the company that runs the FirstCry platform, made a big splash by listing its shares at a 40 per cent premium. The stock opened at Rs 651 on NSE, which was a respectable profit over the IPO price of Rs 465.
Ola electric and mobility
On August 9, shares of the electric two-wheeler company Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. went public on a flat note at Rs 76, but they later recovered and saw an almost 11 per cent increase.
At its lisitng price of Rs 75.99, the stock was down 0.01 per cent from the issue price in public offer. It increased by 10.71 per cent to Rs 84.14 later in the day.
