Sula Vineyards, India's largest wine maker, is planning to launch its initial public offering between December 12-14, according to multiple industry sources with knowledge of the matter.
Sula Vineyards is regarded as a "category creator," and if the listing plans go ahead, it will be the first IPO in India by a pure play wine manufacturer.
"The issue will open for anchor investors on December 9 and will be open to the public from December 12 to December 14," one of the people mentioned above said.
"Sula Vineyards is looking to raise around Rs 950 crore to Rs 1000 crore through the IPO, which will only include an OFS component," a second source told Moneycontrol.
To be sure, the offer for sale component of Sula Vineyards' DRHP, which was filed in July, is up to 25,546,186 equity shares.
Sula Vineyards is backed by Verlinvest, a consumer-focused Belgian family office that made its first investment more than a decade ago and is set to participate in the OFS. Rajeev Samant is the company's MD and CEO.
The i-banks involved in the project are CLSA, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and IIFL Capital. According to the DRHP, the legal advisors are Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal.
To be sure, Fratelli and Grover Zampa are two of Sula Vineyards' domestic unlisted peers.
Allied Blenders & Distillers, the maker of Officers Choice whiskey, is another alcohol company that filed its DRHP (draught red herring prospectus) with Sebi earlier this year and plans to launch within the next few months .
A ‘SPIRIT'ED LOOK AT SULA
Sula is headquartered in Nashik, 180 kilometres northeast of Mumbai, and has two manufacturing facilities, one in Nashik and one in Bengaluru. It had a production capacity of over 13 million litres as of January, with 11 million litres housed in Nashik and 2 million litres housed in Karnataka.
The company has a dominant market share in the domestic wine industry, thanks to a diverse portfolio of wine brands in various price categories and an extensive distribution network. It manufactures approximately 56 domestic labels under 13 brands, which are divided into Elite, Premium, Economy, and Popular segments based on price, composition, taste, and other properties such as alcohol content. According to a January 2022 report by rating agency ICRA, increasing contribution from the Elite and Premium segments is expected to support the company's revenues and margins in the long term under the premiumisation strategy.
In addition to wine production and sales, the company earns money from the hospitality industry through its two wine resorts, Beyond Sula and the Source at Sula. It also has distribution agreements with international brands such as Le Grand Noir, Hardys, Beluga Vodka, and others to distribute imported wine and other core spirits in India. According to the ICRA report, this allows the company to expand its sales distribution network by providing a package of Sula wines, other international branded wines, and core spirits to its distributors.
The company, which gets more than half of its revenue from the wine segment in Maharashtra and Karnataka, operates in a highly regulated industry with state-specific policies and has seen the entry of international players.
(reporting money control)
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