SUMMARY
The retail segment was subscribed 37.89 times, with bids received for 7.92 Cr shares as against 20.92 Lakh shares on offer
The NII and QIB categories saw 17.25 times and 1.03 times subscriptions, respectively
On December 12, DroneAcharya raised INR 9.66 Cr in its anchor round by allotting 17.9 Lakh shares at INR 54 apiece
The initial public offer (IPO) of Pune-based drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations (DroneAcharya AI) received a strong response on the first day, getting subscribed 22.94 times. The retail segment of the IPO was subscribed 37.89 times, with bids received for 7.92 Cr shares as against 20.92 Lakh shares on offer.
Non-institutional investors (NIIs) and qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) categories saw 17.25 times and 1.03 times subscriptions, respectively.
DroneAcharya is offering 62.9 Lakh shares in the IPO, which will close on December 15, in the price range of INR 52-54 per share. Of the total shares on offer, 8.98 Lakh are reserved for high net worth individuals (HNIs) and 11.94 Lakh shares for QIBs, while 20.92 Lakh shares will be offered to retail investors.
The drone startup, backed by ace stock market investor Shankar Sharma, plans to use proceeds from the IPO to purchase and manufacture drones, sensors and processing infrastructure. It also plans to open 12 new training centres by March 2023 using the IPO proceeds.
Corporate Capital Ventures is the lead book-runner in the issue. The startup will be listed on the BSE SME platform.
On Monday (December 12), DroneAcharya raised INR 9.66 Cr in its anchor round from
Aegis Investment Fund, Maven India Fund, Nav Capital VCC-NAV Capital Emerging Star Fund, and Zinnia Global Fund. DroneAcharya AI allocated a total of 17.90 lakh equity shares to the anchor investors at INR 54 per share.
Incorporated by industry veteran Prateek Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya was among the first few private players to receive a certified Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in 2022.
In the first quarter of FY23, DroneAcharya reported a total revenue of about INR 3.1 Cr and a net profit of INR 72.06 Lakh.
The startup claims to have trained over 180 drone pilots since March 2022. It also claims to have rolled out several industry-relevant drone and GIS courses designed to upskill young Indians in building a career in the drone ecosystem.
The startup has tie-ups with multiple corporates and institutions, including its partnership with Flipkart to deliver COVID-19 vaccines via drones for the ‘Medicines From The Sky’ initiative of the Telangana government in association with Apollo Hospital.
DroneAcharya AI also plans to soon begin manufacturing customised and fully-indigenous drones.
The startup’s IPO comes at a time when India has increased its focus on making the country the drone hub of the world by 2030. For this, the government has undertaken several initiatives, including launching the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for drone manufacturing in India.
