The solar panel maker is working with investment banks Axis Capital, Jefferies and Nomura on the proposed IPO, the sources said, adding that the company was likely to file its draft prospectus with the market regulator before the end of the calendar year.
The IPO plans come after the company raised ₹1,000 crore in August to fund its ongoing capex plans in a round led by ValueQuest. It had previously raised ₹1,000 crore in October 2022.
“Waaree has seen strong growth in the last couple of years as the company has been able to take advantage of US import curbs on certain Chinese goods which impact imports of solar modules. The company ended FY23 with an Ebitda of over Rs 850 crore and expects it to double in FY24,” said one of the sources cited above.
Waaree currently has an order book of around $5 billion, with a dominant market share in the exports space, the source added.
“The IPO will help the company fund its capex plans, repay some debt and may also see some exit for the investors that have come in the last two rounds of private fundraising,” the source said.
The company is planning backward integration in the manufacturing of solar cells with a capacity of 5.4 GW. Within the next two years, Waaree Energies plans to have 20 GW of module capacity, 11.4 GW cell and 6 GW wafers manufacturing capacity.Waaree’s 12 GW solar panel manufacturing facility is present at Chikhli, Surat and Umbergaon in Gujarat. The Waaree group also has presence in engineering procurement and construction (EPC) services, project development, solar rooftop solutions, solar inverters, and solar water pumps
Emails sent to Waaree and text messages to its chairman and MD, Hitesh Doshi, went unanswered till press time.
Axis Capital and Nomura declined to comment. An email sent to Jefferies did not elicit a response.
Axis Capital, Jefferies and Nomura declined to comment.
To reduce imports from China for the country’s growing renewables sector, the Indian government allocated manufacturing capacity worth 48,337 MW under the PLI scheme.
Under ingot-wafers, solar cells and modules basket, Waaree bagged 6,000 MW, ReNew bagged 4,800 MW, Avaada received 3,000MW, while others such as Grew and JSW received 2000 MW and 1,000 MW respectively.