Boat & Tata Capital Filed for confidential IPO

Two prominent companies — Tata Capital and Imagine Marketing (boAt's parent company) — have taken a significant step towards going public in the Indian stock markets by filing their respective DRHPs through the new confidential route. This strategic move allows companies to prepare for an IPO without immediately disclosing sensitive details to the public.

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What is the Confidential Pre-Filing Route?

Introduced by SEBI in November 2022, the confidential filing route enables companies to:

• Keep IPO details private until later stages
• Gain flexibility to adjust IPO size (up to 50%) at the UDRHP stage
• Avoid mandatory listing within 12 months (unlike traditional filings); companies get 18 months post-SEBI approval
• Pull out of the IPO quietly if market conditions change

This route has recently gained momentum with companies like Swiggy, Physics Wallah, and Vishal Mega Mart adopting it.

Tata Capital’s Mega ₹15,000 Cr IPO Plan

Tata Capital, the financial arm of Tata Sons, is set for a highly anticipated blockbuster IPO valued at ₹15,000 crore (nearly $2 billion). Here's what we know:

• Fresh Issue: Up to 230 million equity shares of face value ₹10 each
• Offer-for-Sale (OFS): Stake dilution by existing shareholders including Tata Sons and IFC
• Rights Issue: ₹1,504 crore already raised via rights issue subscribed by Tata Sons
• Reason for IPO: Compliance with RBI mandate for "upper layer" NBFCs to go public by September 2025
• AUM: ₹1.58 lakh crore as of March 2024
• Advisors: A league of 10 investment banks including Kotak, Citi, JP Morgan, Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, HSBC, and others

This marks only the second IPO from the Tata Group in nearly two decades, after Tata Technologies (2023) and TCS (2004).

Boat (Imagine Marketing) Attempts IPO Again

Imagine Marketing, known for its extremely popular consumer electronics brand boAt, has also filed a confidential DRHP after withdrawing its first IPO plan back in 2022. Here's what we know so far:

IPO Size: ₹2,000 crore

• Fresh Issue: ₹900 crore
• Offer-for-Sale: ₹1,100 crore

Founders: Aman Gupta & Sameer Mehta (founded in 2013)

FY24 Financials:

• Revenue down 5% to ₹3,121.6 crore
• Net loss reduced by 48% to ₹70.8 crore

Retail Quota: 35% | QIB: 50% | HNI: 15%

Listing: Planned on NSE and BSE

BoAt's filing reflects growing preference for the confidential route, especially among consumer and digital-first brands like PhysicsWallah and Tata Play.

Why Does This Matter?

1. Investor Confidence: Big names like Tata Capital choosing this route shows rising credibility and regulatory acceptance.
2. Market Momentum: More startups and unicorns could adopt this route to test market appetite.
3. Retail Watch: boAt's consumer brand appeal might attract strong retail participation.
4. NBFC Regulations: RBI's push for listing large NBFCs is driving IPO activity (Bajaj Housing Finance, HDB Financial Services are in queue too).

Conclusion

The IPO landscape is shifting with the confidential filing route gaining traction among both corporate giants and startups at the same time. Tata Capital's mega issue and boAt’s second-time filing are key milestones that could shape the IPO market in 2025.