Captain Fresh Picks Axis Capital, BofA As Bankers For IPO

B2B seafood chain Captain Fresh has reportedly picked up Axis Capital and Bank of America (BofA) as bankers for its planned initial public offering (IPO) next year.

“The company is looking to raise $350-400 Mn in its IPO and around 50% will be fresh issue of shares while the remaining will be the offer for sale (OFS) component,” Moneycontrol reported citing sources familiar with the matter.

Inc42 has reached out to Utham Gowda, founder and chief executive of Captain Fresh for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

The report further said that the company is eyeing a valuation of $1.3-1.5 Bn for its public market listing.

Captain Fresh will add a couple more bankers as part of its final IPO syndicate, revealed the report.

“The company is still deciding if it wants two international and one domestic banker or two international and two domestic ones and the final names will be decided over the coming weeks,” sources also said.

In terms of the company’s listing date, the sources have said that the formal work is set to begin shortly and the filing is expected in the first half of 2025, while the startup will list itself on the exchanges in the second half of 2025, as per the report.

Founded in 2019 by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh raised nearly $7 Mn (INR 58 Cr) from British International Investment (BII), in February, resulting in around 1.45% stake for the UK financial body.

As per Inc42’s calculation, Captain Fresh had a pre-money valuation of around $500 Mn-$600 Mn, during the last round of funding.

The company also started the year with a funding of $13 Mn from Nekkanti Sea Foods, Shakti Finvest Pvt Ltd, among others.

This comes at a time when startups across sectors are looking to get listed in the stock exchanges. 

For instance, B2B marketplace OfBusiness initiated discussions with at least five investment bankers as it aims for an initial public offering (IPO) by August next year. 

A few weeks ago, auto marketplace CarDekho was in advanced talks to appoint merchant bankers to helm its initial public offering (IPO) next year, as per reports. The company also plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in March 2025 and is looking to raise nearly $500 Mn (about INR 4,100 Cr), including a “primary component”, at a valuation of $2 Bn to $2.5 Bn.

Furthermore, edtech unicorn Physics Wallah, earlier this month, finalised the names of four investment banking firms for its public listing next year.

Updated at 02:35 PM

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