Pepperfry To File DRHP For IPO In December 2022 Quarter

SUMMARY

Pepperfry is reportedly aiming to go list on the Indian bourses in the coming year, and will take a final call by November this year

Pepperfry has also hired ICICI Bank and JP Morgan to assist it in its IPO plans

Its loss reportedly widened 83% to INR 194 Cr in FY22 from INR 47 Cr in the previous year

Online furniture marketplace Pepperfry is reportedly planning to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the October-December quarter of 2022.

The startup will take a final call on the matter by November, the Economic Times reported citing a source. Pepperfry is aiming to list on the exchanges in 2023.

Inc42 reached out to Pepperfry to confirm the development, but the startup refused to comment on the matter.

Pepperfry has hired ICICI Bank and JP Morgan to assist it in its IPO.

Earlier, Pepperfry was planning to go public this year. However, it put its IPO plans on hold following the poor performance of new-age startups like Nykaa, Zomato and Paytm on the stock exchanges due to the high market volatility.

In the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), Pepperfry’s revenue from operations reportedly grew 22% to nearly INR 247 Cr from INR 211 Cr in FY21. Meanwhile, its loss widened 83% to INR 194 Cr during the year from INR 47 Cr in the previous year.

The startup recently appointed Sanjay Baweja and Malini Parmar as independent directors on its board.

Prior to that, Pepperfry acquired interior designing startup Brandmakerr. It also rejigged its business and shifted its domicile from Cayman Islands to Mumbai as part of its IPO plans.

In May, Pepperfry converted itself from a private company into a public company.

In December last year, the startup raised $40 Mn in a debt funding round from Norwest Venture, General Electric Pension Trust and 45 family businesses as well as trusts.

It has raised nearly $245 Mn in total funding till date.

Pepperfry is moving ahead with its IPO plans at a time when many startups have deferred such plans due to market volatility amid the ongoing war in Europe, tightening monetary policies, and rising inflation. According to a recent Inc42 survey, 60% of founders leading Indian startups are against listing their companies on the Indian stock exchanges.