IPO-bound wearables brand boAt elevates Gaurav Nayyar to CEO

IPO-bound Imagine Marketing Ltd, the parent company behind wearable brand boAt, appointed Gaurav Nayyar as the chief executive officer (CEO), it said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, former CEO Sameer Mehta is expected to continue as executive director, focusing on long-term strategy. Co-founder Aman Gupta will continue as a non-executive director on the board.

Nayyar, who has served as boAt’s chief operating officer for three years, has over 20 years of experience, including eight years as a Partner at Bain & Company.

The leadership change is intended to strengthen management for boAt’s next growth phase, especially as it gears up for public market scrutiny.

The company had filed its draft papers with the markets regulator SEBI for an initial public offering (IPO) through a confidential pre-filing route in April earlier this year. However, the pre-filing of the DRHP does not guarantee the company will go ahead with the maiden public offering.

Founded by Gupta and Mehta, boAt offers products across audio gear, smart wearables, personal grooming, and mobile accessories. The company is backed by Warburg Pincus, Malabar Investments, and Fireside Ventures, and has offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

BoAt Lifestyle had previously attempted to go public in January 2022 and had filed draft papers to float a Rs 2,000-crore IPO. This comprised a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 900 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating up to Rs 1,100 crore.

In FY24, boAt clocked Rs 3,117.6 crore in revenue from operations, compared with Rs 3,376.7 crore in the previous year. During the same period, it narrowed its losses to Rs 79.6 crore from Rs 129 crore in FY23.