Companies
BoAt plans IPO, looks at a valuation of nearly $1.4 bn
Summary
BoAt, one of the top sellers of ear wear and wearable categories in India, is looking at a valuation of about $1.4 billion (about ₹10,000 crore) for the IPO expected between March and June next year, one of the three people said, requesting anonymity
NEW DELHI : Consumer electronics brand BoAt is exploring a public listing to raise funds and offer exits to some of its investors, three people familiar with the matter said.
BoAt, one of the top sellers of ear wear and wearable categories in India, is looking at a valuation of about $1.4 billion (about ₹10,000 crore) for the initial public offering (IPO) expected between March and June next year, one of the three people said, requesting anonymity.
This would be a fivefold jump from the ₹2,000 crore valuation at which BoAt raised nearly $100 million in funding from US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus earlier this year, the person said.
The brand, owned by Mumbai-based Imagine Marketing Pvt. Ltd, is in initial talks with investment bankers for the IPO. “They are currently inviting pitches from the bankers for the listing process," the person said.
The second person cited above said the IPO may include a primary sale of shares and will also see the exit of some of the institutional backers. Qualcomm Ventures and Fireside Ventures have also invested in boAt. In April, BoAt received undisclosed funding from Qualcomm. An emailed query to BoAt did not elicit any response.
In February, the brand roped in Vivek Gambhir, who was till June 2020 spearheading Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, as chief executive. BoAt was founded in 2016 by Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta. The startup’s product range includes headphones, earphones, wearables, speakers and related accessories such as chargers and cables.
The company claimed to have a 45.5% market share in the earwear category and 26.9% of the wearable watch category in India, citing a report by market research firm International Data Corp. in August.
Indian electronics brands typically don’t have any local manufacturing unit and rely on imports from China. However, BoAt is working to build its manufacturing facilities and a dedicated R&D department.
The company entered the personal grooming category with its Misfit sub-brand and has also launched the Immortal range of gaming headphones. It currently has some 250 employees in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The company generated ₹700 crore in net sales in FY20, the latest available data, up from ₹239 crore in FY19.
Profit during the period jumped to ₹49.5 crore from ₹8.7 crore, according to VCCEdge, the data intelligence platform of VCCircle.
