FirstCry to withdraw IPO papers as regulator seeks info on key metrics: Report

FirstCry, an omnichannel retailer of baby and mother care products, will reportedly withdraw papers it filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of an estimated size of $500 million as the market regulator raised questions on some of its business metrics.

As per a Reuters report, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) told the company that it had not complied with the regulations that mandate an IPO-bound company must share all key business metrics in its papers that it has shared with prospective investors in the last three years.

The report noted that FirstCry will now withdraw its IPO papers, update them with the latest Key Performance Indicators and refile them soon. As per a MoneyControl report, the company may refile the papers as early as next week.

YourStory has reached out to FirstCry for a comment.

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Brainbees Solutions, the parent company of FirstCry, had filed for an IPO with SEBI in December 2023. The proposed issue comprised a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1,816 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of up to 5.44 crore equity shares by existing shareholders.

Founded in 2010, FirstCry is backed by leading investors including SoftBank, TPG, Premji Invest, and Mahindra and Mahindra.

This development comes after SEBI introduced a rule in 2022 to increase the scrutiny of companies looking to tap into public markets amid criticism of lax oversight of large loss-making companies commanding very high valuations.

The company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 486.05 crore in FY23 from Rs 78.68 crore in the preceding financial year. However, its consolidated revenue was up over twofold to Rs 5,632.53 crore for the financial year which ended on March 31, 2023 against Rs 2,401.28 crore a year ago.