SEBI Approves FirstCry and Unicommerce IPOs
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the initial public offerings of omnichannel retailer FirstCry and SaaS startup Unicommerce.
According to the latest update on SEBI’s website, the regulator issued its observation letter to Brainbees Solutions Ltd, the parent company of FirstCry, on June 25. Unicommerce received its observation letter on June 28.
In SEBI’s terminology, issuing an observation letter signifies approval to proceed with the offering.
SoftBank-backed FirstCry aims to raise INR 1,816 Cr through a fresh issue of shares, as detailed in its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). The IPO will also include an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 5.4 Cr equity shares. Key shareholders such as SoftBank, Premji Invest, TPG Growth, and Mahindra & Mahindra will offload shares under the OFS.
FirstCry initially filed its DRHP in December last year but withdrew it after SEBI flagged missing key indicators. The kids-focused retailer refiled its DRHP in April this year. The updated draft papers show that FirstCry posted INR 4,814 Cr in sales for the first nine months of FY24, with a net loss of INR 278.2 Cr during that period. The startup’s net loss for FY23 was INR 486 Cr on an operating revenue of INR 5,632.5 Cr.
In contrast, Unicommerce’s IPO will solely consist of an OFS component of up to 2.98 Cr shares with no new shares being issued. SoftBank affiliate SB Investment Holdings (UK) Limited plans to offload up to 1.6 Cr shares, while AceVector (formerly Snapdeal) will offload up to 1.14 Cr shares.
Unicommerce filed its DRHP with SEBI in January this year and submitted an addendum last month to classify SoftBank-owned Starfish I Pte Ltd and Snapdeal’s co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Kumar Bansal as its promoters.
Financially, Unicommerce reported a profit of INR 6.3 Cr for the first half of FY24 on an operating revenue of INR 51 Cr. In FY23, the startup recorded a net profit of INR 6.4 Cr, an 8% increase from INR 6 Cr in the previous fiscal year, with operating revenue rising 52% to INR 90 Cr from INR 59 Cr in FY22.
