Tonbo Imaging India Ltd, a manufacturer of electronics for the defense industry, has raised over 413 crore rupees through secondary share transactions, valuing the company at approximately 4000 crore rupees. These investments occurred just before the company's upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is set to raise 852 crore rupees.
The deals, conducted on September 29-30, involved the transfer of shares from existing investors CEAQ Singapore and CEAQ India to a group of domestic and international institutional investors, according to the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).
Among the buyers were Amansa Investments, Malabar India Fund, SBI Emergent India Fund, SBI Optimal Equity Fund, HDFC Life Insurance Company, Susquehanna Asia Technology, Valuequest Founders Conviction, and 360 ONE Multi-Stage Defence and Space Fund.
Amansa Investments was the largest buyer, acquiring 24.32 lakh shares at a price of 700 rupees per share, corresponding to the upper limit of the IPO price band, totaling approximately 170.24 crore rupees.
Susquehanna Asia Technology Pty Ltd, Valuequest Founders Conviction LVF, and 360 ONE Multi-Stage Defence and Space Fund acquired 5.73 lakh shares each for a total of 40.10 crore rupees. Additionally, Akash Manek Bhanshali purchased 5.66 lakh shares for 39.59 crore rupees, and SBI Emergent India Fund received 5 lakh shares worth 35 crore rupees.
SBI Optimal Equity Fund and HDFC Life Insurance Company acquired shares worth 20.09 crore rupees and 16.03 crore rupees, respectively.
The company's IPO is scheduled to open for public subscription on October 15 and close on October 19, with a price band of 665–700 rupees per share. The offering is exclusively an Offer for Sale (OFS) of 1.22 crore shares from shareholders and promoters, without a new issue component, meaning Tonbo Imaging will not receive funds from this placement.
The company was founded in 2003 by technologists previously working at the US Department of Defense and Sarnoff Corporation, and in 2012, after being acquired by current promoters, it reoriented its operations to focus on defense product manufacturing. Tonbo Imaging develops and manufactures sensor, processing, communication, and guidance systems for surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, and control tasks. Its product portfolio includes thermal imaging cores, sights, portable thermal binoculars, guidance systems, surface-to-air missile systems, and fire control systems. The company supplies its products to global defense forces, law enforcement agencies, homeland security organizations, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).