Peak XV-backed Wakefit picks Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, Nomura as bankers for IPO

Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, co-founder, Wakefit

Wakefit, a sleep and home solutions startup, has picked three investment banks for its initial public offering (IPO), as the firm looks to join a growing list of new-age companies that are preparing to list on the bourses, people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol.

“The company has set the ball rolling and has hired Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services and Nomura as advisers for its IPO,” one of the sources cited above said.

While Wakefit may look to submit its draft papers in the coming months, it is yet to formally decide on the timing. “The company is looking to raise around Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, or about $200 million through an IPO,” the source said.

The split between the primary portion and offer-for-sale (OFS) component has also not been decided yet. Wakefit, which has raised more than $100 million (around Rs 850 crore) from Peak XV Partners, South Korea’s Paramark Ventures, Europe’s Verlinvest and others, will look to give some of its early backers an exit.

Wakefit, Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services and Nomura did not reply to Moneycontrol’s queries.

Founded by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda in 2016, Wakefit started as a mattress company but forayed into ancillary products such as cots, tables, chairs and other home furnishing categories to boost its top line.

The company has gone from a top line of Rs 199 crore in FY20 to Rs 1,017 crore in FY24. At the same time, it narrowed losses from Rs 146 crore in FY23 to Rs 15 crore in FY24, regulatory filings show.

It competes with Premji Invest-backed The Sleep Company, Westbridge-funded WoodenStreet, global retail giant IKEA and others in a fast-growing market.

IPO pipeline

Wakefit is the latest new-age company that has made moves to tap the market investors. In 2024, 13 startups, including Swiggy, Mobikwik, and Ola Electric, together raised over Rs 29,000 crore ($3.4 billion) from the capital market, data from Avendus, an investment bank, shows.

A total of 13 IPOs in 2024 is significantly higher than five such listings in 2023 and just two in 2022.

Global macroeconomic uncertainties notwithstanding, investors, bankers and startups remain upbeat about the IPO pipeline in 2025.

Moneycontrol has reported that 25 startups will likely go public this year. Over a longer timeframe, startups worth $100 billion, including Walmart-owned Flipkart, Oyo and PhonePe, are set to go public, an Bloomberg report has said.