Pepperfry picks I-Sec, Axis Cap, JPM for around $250 mn IPO; Filing likely next month

Leading omnichannel furniture and home products marketplace Pepperfry has kicked off plans to launch an initial public offer in 2022 and mandated three investment banks for the proposed listing, the first of its kind in the fragmented segment, multiple industry sources familiar with the development told Moneycontrol.

“ICICI Securities, Axis Capital and JPMorgan have been taken on board as advisors for the proposed Pepperfry IPO and the deal was kicked off a few week back,” said one of the person cited above.

A second person said that the firms’ draft red herring prospectus, which is being prepared currently, was likely to be filed with the market regulator SEBI by June. The plan is to raise around $250 million via a combination of primary and secondary issuance of shares and the final size may vary later depending on the selling strategies of existing investors, this person added.

“The IPO will facilitate growth capital for expansion and also provide a partial exit to the existing investors of Pepperfry,” said a third person.

Some of Pepperfry’s key investors include Norwest Ventures, Broadstreet Investments, General Electric Pension Trust and Bertelsmann. In February 2020, the company had raised $40 million in a growth round led by Pidilite Industries, the maker of popular adhesive brand Fevicol.

All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

Moneycontrol is awaiting the response to an email query sent to Pepperfry, Axis Capital and JP Morgan and has sent reminders. This article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firms. ICICI Securities declined to comment.

Know more about Pepperfry

Pepperfry was founded in January 2012 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah and sells a wide range of products on its website and also has an offline presence via a franchise model. According to its website, it has more than 1.2 lakh products and more than 60 lakh registered users across more than 500 cities. The website has 120 lakh plus monthly visits and the firm has 40 plus Pepperfry experience centers and 17 fulfillment hubs across the country.

On May 21, inc42.com reported that the Pepperfry board had passed a resolution to convert the IPO-bound Mumbai-based startup into a public company. The report added that the firm registered an operating revenue of Rs 203.4 crore in FY21 against Rs 236.3 crore in FY20 and that its losses had reduced by 61.6 percent to Rs 47.2 crore in FY21 as compared to Rs 122.8 crore in FY20.

Pepperfry’ domestic rivals include the likes of Urban Ladder (acquired by Reliance Retail), WoodenStreet, Swedish furniture chain Ikea, Flipkart, Arrivae and others.

2022 has seen a slowdown in IPO activity in the startup sector with many players deferring their listing plans and cutting costs by resorting to layoffs even as VC’s turn extra cautious in an environment of geo-political uncertainty and choppy markets. The listing (scheduled for May 24) of tech enabled logistics player Delhivery, which is looking to raise Rs 5,235 crore ( pruned by about 30 percent) is expected to influence IPO sentiment in the segment.