Mamaearth-parent Honasa gets SEBI nod for IPO launch

Mamaearth-parent Honasa gets SEBI nod for IPO launch

• By Staff Writer

The markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday granted approval  to Honasa Consumer Ltd, which owns FMCG brands Mamaearth and The Derma Co, to raise funds through initial public offering (IPO).

In March this year, Honasa Consumer delayed its IPO due to unfavourable market conditions. 

Honasa filed its preliminary IPO papers with the Sebi in December 2022.

According to the draft papers, Honasa Consumer's proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to ₹400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 4,68,19,635 shares by promoters and existing shareholders.

The shareholders in the OFS would include promoters and co-founders -- Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh -- Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Rohit Kumar Bansal, Sofina Ventures and Kunal Bahl. 

In March, Honasa CEO Varun Alagh had told Reuters that its largest investor, Sequoia, would not be selling any shares in the IPO and the founders would own more than 97% of their shares after the IPO.

The company, backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital and Belgium's Sofina, was founded in 2016 by the couple Varun and Ghazal Alagh.

Healthcare tech firm Indegene Ltd and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) firm Vishnu Prakash R Punglia Ltd were also given go-ahead by the Sebi to float their IPO.

According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), the IPO of Indegene comprises of a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to ₹950 crore and OFS of up to 3.63 crore equity shares by existing investors. 

Its OFS consists of up to 27 lakh equity shares to be sold by individual shareholders -- Manish Gupta, Rajesh Bhaskaran Nair and Anita Nair -- and up to 3.36 crore equity shares by existing investors, including Carlyle, Brighton Park Capital and the Nadathur Family Office.

According to a PTI report quoting merchant banking sources, Indegene focused on the global life sciences industry is expected to mobilise ₹3,200 crore through the initial share sale. 

Indegene is likely to use funds raised through the fresh issue to pay debt, fund capital expenditure requirements, payment of deferred consideration for one of its past acquisitions, fund inorganic growth and general corporate purposes.

The IPO of Jodhpur-based Vishnu Prakash R Punglia Ltd consists of a fresh issue of 3.12 crore equity shares with no OFS.