According to media reports, Sula Vineyards, which is the largest wine brand in India, is planning to go public soon.
Money Control reports that Sula Vineyards has already submitted necessary legal and financial documents with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regarding an Initial Public Offering.
The Securities Exchange Board of India is the regulatory authority that is responsible for stock market operations in India.
If the IPO of Sula Vineyards is approved by SEBI and gets listed in markets, it would be the first of its kind. Sula Vineyards would be the first pure wine manufacturer to conduct an initial public offer in India.
In June, another company in the alcohol industry, Allied Blenders & Distillers, filed their DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) with regulations and authorities.
Allied Blenders & Distillers own the famous Officer’s Choice whiskey.
Various reports suggest that Sula Vineyards are planning for a pure offer for sale IPO.
According to draft red herring prospectus filed by the company with SEBI, Offer for Sale component of the IPO would be up to 25,546,186 equity shares.
Main shareholders such as Verlinvest are the ones who would be selling their shareholdings in order to pave way for the IPO.
Verlinvest is a Belgium-based family office company which have significant investment in India. Indian investment of Verlinvest in India includes shareholding in companies such as Byju’s, Veeba and Epigamia to name a few.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, CLSA Ltd. (formerly known as Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia), and IIFL Capital are the banking entities that are working with Sula Vineyards reading the initial public offering.
The top two corporate law firms in India, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal are acting as legal advisors of the firm during the IPO process.
About the company
Sula Vineyards was founded in 1999 by Rajeev Samant who is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Vineyards and the winery of Sula are located in the northern region of the state of Maharashtra, Nashik.
With more than 30 variants of wines of different brands and different flavours, Sula Vineyards is one of the leading players in the Indian wine industry.
Apart from its presence in the Indian domestic market, the winemaker also exports its high-quality wine to nearly 30 countries. European countries such as Italy, France, and the specific island nation of Australia are all on its list of international presence.
It also imports and acts as distributors of various international wine brands and similar drinks such as Le Grand Noir, Torres, Trapiche, Hardy’s, Bouchard Aîné et Fils, Cap Royal, Cono Sur, Gruppo Italiano Vini, Beluga Vodka, and Asahi to name a few.
