HomeLane Eyes Rs 1,500-Crore IPO by Mid-2022

HomeLane, a home interior startup backed by former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, plans to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore through an initial public offering that should hit the market by mid-2022, multiple people aware of the matter said. Bank of America, Axis Capital and have been hired to run the initial public offering (IPO), said the people. They said 25-30% stake will be offered in the proposed IPO. It will be a combination of primary and secondary shares where some existing investors, including Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, will make part exits. At present, about 70% stake in Bengaluru-based HomeLane is held by investors including Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, IIFL AMC, Oman India Joint Investment Fund, Stride Ventures, Pidilite, Evolvence, K Ganesh-backed Growth Story, Aarin Capital, Baring Private Equity Partners, RB Investments, JSW Ventures and NuVentures. Founded in 2014 by Srikanth Iyer and Tanuj Choudhry, HomeLane provides end-to-end personalised home interior solutions. The company has served more than 20,000 customers through 34 experience centres in 19 cities of India. In September, HomeLane had raised Rs 370 crore ($50 million) in a Series E funding round led by IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fund, Oman India Joint Investment Fund and Stride Ventures. The company has raised a total of more than Rs 765 crore ($104 million) in the past seven years. In this latest round, HomeLane was valued at Rs3600 crore, said sources. It reported revenue of Rs 270 crore for 2020-21 In August last year, HomeLane had joined hands with Dhoni as an equity partner and brand ambassador. He is HomeLane’s first brand ambassador and the first celebrity to endorse an end-to-end home interiors brand. Last week, an employee stock option plan (Esop) worth Rs. 27 crore was bought back by the company. Former employees were offered 100% liquidity, while active employees had the option to exercise up to 35% of their vested Esops.