Mumbai's drone maker IdeaForge Technology gets SEBI approval for IPO

Mumbai-based drone maker IdeaForge Technology will now soon launch its initial public offering (IPO) as it got approval from the regulator SEBI, The Securities Exchange Board Of India.

The market regulator has given a final observation letter to the company, and in the regulator's parlance, an observation letter is equivalent to approval.

The development comes almost three months after it filed preliminary IPO papers with SEBI to raise funds via IPO, which comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 300 crore and an offer for the sale of 48.69 lakh equity shares.

According to reports, Under the offer for sale (OFS), Founder Ashish Bhat will sell 1.8 lakh shares, Amarpreet Singh will offload 8,362 shares, and Nambirajan Seshadri will sell 22,600 shares. Other selling shareholders include A&E Investment LLC, Agarwal Trademart Pvt Ltd, and Celesta Capital II Mauritius, among others. 

There also have been reports indicating that the company may consider the pre-IPO placement of up to Rs 60 crore after consulting with leading bankers. If this happens, the fresh issue size will be reduced. 

Founded in 2017 by IIT Bombay alumni Ankit Mehta and Ashish Bhat, IdeaForge manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and is one of the few entrants in the UAV market. Notably, Its customers include the armed forces, central armed police forces, state police departments, disaster management forces, and forest departments, among other civil customers.

In April 2022, IdeaForge raised $20 million in a Series B round from Florintree, with participation from Celesta Capital, Infosys, Qualcomm, Infina, and Exim Bank of India.

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