FirstCry’s parent firm files DRHP; to raise Rs 1,816 crore via fresh issue

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Brainbees Solutions Limited (FirstCry.com), India’s multi-channel retailing platform for newborns, mothers, and kids, has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).


The Pune-based unicorn’s initial public offering comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1,816 crore and an offer for sale of up to 54,391,592 equity shares by selling shareholders.


The Supam Maheshwari-led company proposes to utilise the net proceeds from the offer towards funding the expenditure for setting up new modern stores, a warehouse, and lease payments for existing identified modern stores in India. It would also use it towards funding the investment in its subsidiary, FirstCry Trading, for overseas expansion by setting up new modern stores and warehouses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).


The capital would also help fund the investment in its subsidiary, GlobalBees Brands, and the acquisition of additional stakes in its indirect subsidiaries. Other such initiatives include sales and marketing initiatives, technology and data science costs including cloud and server hosting-related costs. It would also use the funds towards inorganic growth through acquisition and other strategic initiatives as well as for general corporate purposes.


The offer for sale comprises up to 20,318,050 equity shares by SVF Frog (Cayman) Ltd and up to 2,806,174 equity shares by Mahindra & Mahindra Limited,


The offer consists of up to 8,601,292 equity shares by PI Opportunities Fund-1, up to 3,899,525 equity shares by TPG Growth V SF Markets Pte. Ltd., and up to 3,014,233 equity shares by NewQuest Asia Investments III Limited.


The offer also consists of up to 2,523,280 equity shares by Apricot Investments Limited, up to 2,404,344 by Valiant Mauritius Partners FDI Limited, up to 837,676 equity shares by TIMF Holdings (Mauritius), up to 837,676 equity shares by Think India Opportunities Master Fund LP (Cayman) and up to 616,945 equity shares by Schroders Capital Private Equity Asia Mauritius II Limited (corporate selling shareholders).


The FirstCry platform was launched in India in 2010 with the goal to create a one-stop destination for parenting needs across commerce, content, and community engagement.


The multi-channel retailing platform includes FirstCry’s online platform accessible through the mobile application and website. This also includes FirstCry modern stores comprising franchisee-owned, franchisee-operated modern stores (FOFO), company-owned and company-operated modern stores (COCO) as well as general trade retail distribution.


The company offers products in various categories, including apparel, footwear, baby gear, nursery, diapers, toys, and personal care. As at June 30, 2023, they offer more than one million SKUs (stock keeping units) from over 6,800 brands.


As of June 30, 2023, the FirstCry mobile application has been downloaded more than 104 million times in India. Further, they have a network of 936 FirstCry and BabyHug modern stores in 465 cities in 27 states and four union territories across India with over 1.76 million square feet of retail space, as at June 30, 2023.


FirstCry’s revenue from operations jumped to Rs 5,632 crore during FY23 as compared to Rs 2,401 crore in FY22, according to Entrackr. Income from the sale of products accounted for 98 per cent of the total operating revenue which surged 2.37X to Rs 5,519 crore in FY23.


The losses for the SoftBank-backed firm spiked 6.15X to Rs 486 crore in FY23 as compared to Rs 79 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and Ebitda margin stood at -7 per cent and -2 per cent, respectively, according to Entrackr.

First Published: Dec 28 2023 | 4:05 PM IST