Imagine Marketing, the parent company of Delhi-based consumer electronics brand boat, is all set to become the first Indian D2C brand to file for an IPO.
The startup is likely to file draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for its IPO by January end, aiming to raise about INR 2,000 crore. It is looking to launch its IPO by April-May 2022. Imagine marketing IPO will have a fresh issue and OFS INR 1,000 crore each.
boAt, operated by Imagine Marketing, had raised nearly INR 750 crore ($100 million) from the US-based Warburg Pincus early this year.
Qualcomm Ventures invested INR 50 crore in April at a valuation of Rs 2,200 crore. In 2019, boAt received INR 20 crore as venture debt from BAC Acquisitions, cofounded by the Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal. The startup had generated about Rs 700 crore in revenue for FY20.
The startup has roped in Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Axis Bank and ICICI Securities to manage its IPO.
boat acquires Singapore based KaHa
Recently boat’s parent company, Imagine Marketing Private Limited, acquired Singapore-based wearable company KaHa Pte (Cove IoT), a wearable smart internet-of-things product development startup to augment its wearable product line.
After proving its mettle in the earwear segment by securing an overwhelming 48 percent market share, the boat now wants to rule the roost in the wearable product line with KaHa’s concept, design, electronic firmware, algorithm development, android and iOS applications, and other features and capabilities.
The startup has even left behind South Korean electronics giant Samsung in the earwear segment, which came fourth with a 5.3 percent share. boAt has morphed into a giant ship over the last few years with a sole target of running a business to make a profit.
The startup has a dream run in Financial Year (FY) 2021
Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta started boAt as an audio-tech startup in November 2016. the duo just knew two things. The first was to disrupt the consumer electronics segment, starting with hearables.
Since then, the company had never looked back as they caught the market with quality products provided at the right price range for a customer base that readily accepted the offerings.
The startup has cruised at an astonishing speed and the last financial year was a dream run for the D2C startup. From INT 31 crore revenue in FY17, the company clocked over INR 1000 crore in FY21.
From hearable to wearables, boAt has grown at a furious pace. According to market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the company recently entered wearables. According to market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), it quickly became the second biggest in the category by logging 23.1 percent market share in the third quarter, according to market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
