FirstCry IPO to Open for Public Subscription on August 6; Details Here 

E-commerce platform FirstCry has filed its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI. As per the RHP, the company will launch its anchor book on August 5. The issue will be available for public subscription from August 6 to August 8. The price band will be disclosed by the company on August 1.

In the public listing, the company is looking for a valuation of $2.9–3 billion. The offer consists of a fresh issue of equity shares with a face value of $2 each, amounting to $16,660 million. Additionally, up to 54,359,733 equity shares with a face value of $2 each are being offered for sale. The total amount for the offer is not yet specified. 

The selling shareholders who will take part in the OFS include Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Premji Invest, TPG Growth, NewQuest Asia, and SVF Frog (Cayman) Ltd. 

The objective of the issue is to come up with new modern stores, focus on sales and marketing incentives, invest in its subsidiary digital age, and more. The proceeds will also be used for the payment of leases for its existing stores, the setting up of warehouses, and more. Additionally, the company plans to expand to Saudi Arabia with its net proceeds. 

The document says, “Further, a portion of the net proceeds is proposed to be invested towards the expansion of our overseas operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which we commenced in 2022.” 

However, certain factors could affect the company’s expansion plans. This includes “labor shortages, increased costs of equipment or manpower, delays in completion, the possibility of unanticipated future regulatory restrictions, delays in receiving governmental, statutory, and other regulatory approvals, increases in other expenses, and other external factors that may not be within the control of our management.” 

The company reported a 15 percent jump in its revenue in FY 24 at Rs 6,481 crore from Rs 5,633 crore in FY23. Similarly, its loss narrowed to Rs 321 crore at 34 percent. Interestingly, its offline stores were the primary source of its income.