FirstCry, an ecommerce platform focused on mother and childcare products, is set to introduce its initial public offering (IPO) in the early months of the upcoming year.
Preceding the IPO launch, Softbank Vision Fund has divested a significant portion of its shares in the company.
Softbank, the primary shareholder in retailer FirstCry, has sold off additional shares, allowing family offices and prominent investment firms to acquire stakes in the company before the IPO.
According to sources cited by a media house, buyers including the family offices of Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Modi from the ethnic wear brand Manyavar, Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, and the TVS group family have purchased equity shares of FirstCry.
This move has resulted in Softbank reducing its stake in FirstCry to below 25 per cent, having sold shares worth Rs 600 crore before the IPO, down from their previous holding of around 30 per cent.
Earlier, family offices such as Ranjan Pai’s (Manipal Group), Harsh Mariwala’s Sharrp Ventures (Marico) and Hemendra Kothari’s DSP family offices had also acquired shares in FirstCry, as reported by the media house in August.
SoftBank initially invested USD 400 million in FirstCry, entering a partnership with the company in 2020. Even if the company chooses a USD 4 billion valuation for its IPO, an approximate USD 1 billion stake will remain available for investment.
Details about the FirstCry IPO: Tentative date and offering size
Preliminary reports suggest that FirstCry intends to initiate its IPO post the Lok Sabha elections, anticipating a surge in the Indian stock market.
Although the firm was last valued at USD 3 billion, the IPO valuation is expected to be pegged at USD 4 billion. The IPO aims to raise USD 500 million, with 37 per cent allocated for fresh issue shares and the remainder through Offer For Sale (OFS).
New investors, including Premji Invest (the family office of Wipro founder Azim Premji) and the Mahindra group, are anticipated to join FirstCry’s cap table. The company plans to file its IPO papers on 29 December.
