Mamaearth’s IPO plan on hold

Indian organic skincare brand, Mamaearth puts its initial public offering (IPO) on hold because of sluggish market condition.

Gurugram based Honasa, Mamaearth parent company planning to raise $200 million to $300 million by issuing new equity and an offer for sale of some existing shares.  Mamaearth, which is supported by investors like Sequoia, is now on a wait -watch position and not selling any shares in the IPO, also the promoter holding of the company would be around 97% after the IPO.

By the end of January, Mamaearth had hoped to begin marketing the IPO and begin communication with investors, but neither of those things have happened yet. The report noted, that there was a discrepancy between the valuation that the company was seeking and what investors were willing to provide.

Mamaearth was founded in 2016 by Varun Alagh, the chief executive of Mamaearth is famous for its toxin-free baby, beauty, hair, and all kind of beauty and hair care range which has been growing at the range of 12% per year and aiming to expand to $30 billion by the end of 2026. Till the January 2022, company was standing at the valuation of $1.2 billion.

Varun Alagh, did not directly address the IPO being postponed, but he did state that the business would not be “optimizing for short-term valuations, we are in this for the long haul.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) must approve the IPO by the end of December in order for the company to file its final prospectus. According to the sources, it still intends to list but with a delay, it might re-evaluate market conditions and begin its marketing campaign by October.

Mamaearth is also working in its expansion plan by adding more physical stores and full spectrum of beauty range. Honasa Consumer already holds the title of unicorn (billion-dollar valuation). It covers 718 districts and 18,323 pin codes, and Tier 2 cities account for 45.93% of its volume.  Shilpa Shetty Kundra is the Brand ambassador of Mamaearth,