IPO Update: Wellness Forever Gets Nod of SEBI to Raise ₹1,600 Crore Through IPO

IPO Update: Wellness Forever Gets Nod of SEBI to Raise ₹1,600 Crore Through IPO Wellness Forever, a retail pharmacy company founded by Adar Poonawalla, has received approval from markets regulator Sebi to fund Rs.1,600 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The projected raise is of Rs.1600 crore through the company’s IPO. After Hyderabad-based MedPlus, this will be the second drugstore chain to go public. In October 2021, the company had filed preliminary IPO documents with SEBI. According to an update from SEBI, the company received SEBI's "observations" in mid-February. In SEBI parlance, the issue of observations is a green light to float an IPO. By number of outlets, Wellness Forever Medicare Limited is India's third-largest retail pharmacy and wellness network, having a stronghold in western India in terms of overall revenues. They operate a large Omni channel, hyper local retail network under their “Wellness Forever” brand, serving as a one-stop solution for their customers’ wellness needs with most of their stores operating 24x7. They put a priority on giving their consumers a shopping experience that goes beyond just buying medicines and basic supplies. They provide a diverse range of pharmaceutical and wellness products, with an average of 13,000 products per shop, including fast-moving consumer goods ("FMCG"), fast-moving health goods ("FMHG"), nutraceuticals, and medical equipment, as well as over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals. The proposed IPO consists of a fresh offering of 400 crore equity shares and an offer to sell up to 1.60 crore equity shares. Ashraf Mohammed Biran and Gulshan Haresh Bhahtiani are offering up to 7.20 lakh shares apiece, Mohan Ganpat Chavan is offering up to 1.20 lakh shares, and other existing owners are offering up to 144.85 lakh shares as part of the OFS. They started their first pharmacy in 2008, and as of June 30, 2021, they had expanded its retail footprint to 236 locations in 23 cities in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa, serving a registered customer base of 6.7 million people. The pharmacy chain's revenue increased to 924.02 crore in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, from 863.25 crore the previous fiscal year. Wellness Forever intends to use the net proceeds from the new issue to fund capital expenditure, retire debt in the amount of Rs 100 crore, and meet its working capital requirements in the amount of Rs 122 crores, in addition to general corporate objectives. The Mumbai-based company operates a network of 236 outlets in 23 cities spanning Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka. The pharmacy chain's revenue increased by 7% to Rs 924.02 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, from Rs 863.25 crore the previous fiscal year. The issue's book running lead managers are DAM Capital Advisors, IIFL Securities, Ambit, and HDFC Bank.