Drone Maker ideaForge Files for IPO: A Side-by-Side Look at DroneAcharya’s Bumper IPO; output size, more

Drone maker ideaForge Technology has filed papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise capital through an IPO. The drone designer and manufacturer boasted about 50% market share in Indian UAVs. The IPO will include new issues of shares worth Rs 300 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) where the promoters and shareholders will offer 48.7 lakh shares with a par value of Rs 10 each. Proceeds from the re-issuance of Rs 50 crore will be used for the repayment/prepayment of certain debts, Rs 135 crore will be used to fund working capital needs and Rs 40 crore will be used for investment in product development and general corporate purposes.

ideaForge Technology’s products and services range from UAVs, batteries, communication systems to drone-related software and solutions that provide customer applications for surveillance, mapping and surveying. The company’s IPO debut would be the first-ever listing by a drone manufacturer. JM Financial and IIFL Capital are the Book Running Lead Managers for the Infosys and Qualcomm backed company.

Over the past three years, ideaForge’s operating income grew by 237.48% CAGR and the company turned profitable in the second quarter of FY23, fueled by sales to the Indian defense sector. A 1Lattice report, referenced in the DRHP, estimates that the drone industry is worth $21 billion and growing at a 20% CAGR. India’s drone industry aims to establish itself as a major drone hub by 2030.

Drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations was listed on the BSE SME platform in December 2022 with a record premium of 90%. DroneAcharya shares made its market debut at Rs 102 on the BSE compared to the public issue price of Rs 54. Shortly thereafter, the share price rose to 107 rupees per share, up 98%. DroneAcharya output size was approximately 12.5% ​​of ideaForge output size, which is Rs 34 crore fresh outputs. The aerial innovation company offers a high-end ecosystem of drone solutions such as training, surveys, data processing and surveillance.

Income for fiscal year 22

Drone Acharya: Rs 3.59 crore
ideaForge Technologies: Rs 1,59,43 crore

FY22 profit

Drone Acharya: Rs 40.65 lakhs
ideaForge Technologies: Rs 44 crore

Fresh edition

Drone Acharya: Rs 34 crore
ideaForge Technologies: Rs 300 crore

OFS

Drone Acharya: Zero
ideaForge Technologies: 4,869,712 shares

plank

Drone Acharya: SME board
ideaForge Technologies: motherboard

However, in its DRHP, ideaForge did not mention DroneAcharya among its listed competitors. “There are no publicly traded companies that are solely concerned with the manufacture of drones. Therefore, fundamental factors such as scale of business, exposure to defense sector, manufacture of electronics products, a proxy set of listed competitors from MTAR Technologies Limited, Data Patterns (India) Limited and Astra Microwave Products Limited have been identified for our company,” stated the in Mumbai based drone manufacturer.