Tata Play, ideaForge Technology get Sebi nod to go ahead with IPO plans

IPO

Mumbai-based Drone maker ideaForge Technology has received approval from the capital markets regulator Sebi to launch IPO for fund raising.

The issue comprises a fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 300 crore, and an offer for sale up to 48.69 lakh shares by selling shareholders.

Amarpreet Singh, Nambirajan Seshadri, Naresh Malhotra, Sujata Vemuri, Sundararajan K Pandalgudi, A&E Investment LLC, Agarwal Trademart, Celesta Capital, Export Import Bank of India, Indusage Technology Venture Fund I, Qualcomm Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, and Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, along with promoter Ashish Bhat will be the selling shareholders in the IPO.

ideaForge Technology has filed its draft red herring prospectus with Sebi in February this year.

The company has received an observation letter from the regulator on April 13, an update with Sebi showed on Tuesday. In Sebi's parlance, its observation implies its go-ahead to launch the IPO.

Use of capital

ideaForge will utilise fresh issue proceeds for repaying debts, working capital requirements, investment in product development, and general corporate purposes.

Founded in 2007, the Mumbai-based company has the largest operational deployment of indigenous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) across India, with its drones taking off every five minutes on average for surveillance and mapping.

Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, has also received Sebi's approval to raise funds through IPO.

Tata Play, the first company in India to use the confidential pre-filing of draft papers option for an initial share sale in December 2022, obtained the regulator's observation letter on April 26.

Under the pre-filing route, there is no pressure on the company to go for an IPO, experts told PTI.

Moreover, unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval, or final observation; in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments.

This route also provides flexibility to change the primary issue size by 50 percent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) stage.

(With inputs from PTI)