
Lava alone survived the Chinese onslaught. It now seeks funds to take on foreign rivals
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Lava, the homegrown smartphone and accessories brand, is in talks with investors to raise up to ₹500 crore ($58 million) in the coming months before pursuing a public listing, a senior company executive said, as the company looks to ramp up its presence in the country. Sunil Raina, executive director at Lava International, did not disclose the valuation for its current funding effort but referred to an earlier attempt.
“During our listing attempt in September 2021, bankers had assigned us a ₹14,000 crore ($1.7 billion) valuation," he said. He also declined to reveal the likely valuation or a timeline for re-filing its public listing papers. “An initial public offering (IPO) will be a strategic move that we will consider only when we build up a certain scale," Raina said.
“To do that, we will invest additional funds into marketing and increase our presence across more markets with both online and offline retailers." Also read | Lava charts fresh listing plans Lava is looking to raise funds for expansion when its overall market share and yearly sales have remained muted despite the government’s push for local manufacturing across sectors. Data sourced by Mint from Counterpoint, as well as estimates shared by Raina, indicated that Lava sold approximately 1.5 million smartphones in 2024. In the fiscal through March 2024, Lava International’s consolidated revenue tumbled 25% on-year to ₹3,646 crore ($426 million), and a net operating profit slumped 85% to ₹11.6 crore ($1.4 million).
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