firstcry ipo: FirstCry parent files IPO papers, to raise Rs 1,816 crore via sale of new shares

Brainbees Solutions, parent of omnichannel retailer FirstCry, has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to raise Rs 1,816 crore issuing fresh shares besides an offer for sale of more than 54 million shares.

This is the second Indian vertical ecommerce company to have filed for going public after Nykaa listed on the local bourses in 2021.

According to the DRHP, the Pune-headquartered firm will use the new capital for setting up new stores and warehouses. It will also use the new capital for international expansion.

Existing investors in FirstCry like Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Vision Fund, Premji Invest, Mahindra Retail will be offloading a part of their holding in the company. ET had first reported on December 19 about FirstCry filing its draft IPO papers this week to raise $500-600 million. The company, which was last valued at under $3 billion in the private market, is likely to float its public issue at a valuation of around $4 billion.

According to regulatory filings, FirstCry’s operating revenue for the year ended 31 March 2023 more than doubled year-on- year to Rs 5,632 crore even as its total losses shot up more than six times to Rs 486 crore.

ET reported on December 25 saying the company has seen Rs 1,000 crore in secondary share capital in recent months taking the total to more than Rs 1,000 crore. SoftBank has sold shares for about Rs 600 crore.

The family offices of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, ethnic wear brand Manyavar’s Ravi Modi and Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan, as well as the TVS Group family, ET had reported.

Supam Maheshwari, Sanket Hattimattur, Amitava Saha and Prashant Jadhav founded FirstCry in 2010.

Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox.