boAt cuts IPO size to Rs 1,500 crore in updated DRHP filing; Warburg Pincus, founders to sell shares

Homegrown audio and wearables brand boAt, operated by Imagine Marketing Ltd, has filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), reducing its proposed initial public offering (IPO) size to Rs 1,500 crore from the earlier Rs 2,000 crore.

The revised issue comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth Rs 1,000 crore by existing investors and co-founders.

According to the updated DRHP, South Lake Investment Ltd, a fund managed by Warburg Pincus, will offload shares worth Rs 500 crore, accounting for half of the total OFS. Other participating investors include Fireside Ventures (Rs 150 crore) and Qualcomm Ventures (Rs 50 crore).

Among the founders, Sameer Mehta will sell shares worth Rs 75 crore, while Aman Gupta, co-founder and chief marketing officer, is set to realise Rs 225 crore from the sale.

Out of the Rs 500 crore fresh issue, boAt intends to allocate Rs 225 crore towards working capital, Rs 150 crore for branding and marketing, and the remainder for general corporate purposes.

The company’s IPO will be managed by ICICI Securities, JM Financial, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura, with MUFG Intime serving as registrar.

It plans to deploy its Rs 150 crore marketing allocation over three years, Rs 28 crore in FY26, Rs 60 crore in FY27, and Rs 62 crore in FY28, to strengthen customer engagement and reinforce its position as a leading digital-first consumer brand.

As of the latest filing, South Lake Investment remains boAt’s largest shareholder with a 39.35% stake, followed by co-founders Aman Gupta (24.76%) and Sameer Mehta (24.75%). Other key investors include Fireside Ventures (3.28%), Qualcomm Ventures (2.28%), and Malabar Select Fund (1.20%).

Founded in 2016, boAt operates on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model, offering affordable, design-led products across audio, wearables, and mobile accessories. The company sells through major online marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, its own website, and over 12,000 offline retail stores across 25 states and five union territories. It also has a presence in the Middle East, Nepal, and other South Asian markets, supported by over 115 third-party service centres.

Financial performance

boAt reported operating revenue of Rs 3,073 crore and a net profit of Rs 61 crore in FY25, marking a turnaround from a loss of Rs 79.6 crore in FY24.
In Q1 FY26, revenue stood at Rs 628 crore with a net profit of Rs 21.35 crore.

The audio segment remained the primary revenue driver, contributing Rs 2,586 crore (84.23%) of total operating revenue in FY25, followed by wearables (Rs 330 crore, 10.76%) and other products (Rs 153.9 crore, 5.01%).

The company noted a steady decline in wearable revenues over the past three years, from Rs 901 crore in FY23 to Rs 550 crore in FY24 and Rs 330 crore in FY25, citing heightened competition, softening demand, and falling average selling prices.

Advertising and promotion expenses rose 6.5% year-on-year to Rs 389.7 crore in FY25, while spending fell 34.5% year-on-year in Q1 FY26 to Rs 53 crore.

boAt’s revised IPO plan comes after it re-filed its DRHP in April 2025 through SEBI’s confidential route. The earlier IPO proposal, filed in 2022, sought to raise Rs 2,000 crore but was deferred amid volatile market conditions and profitability challenges.