B2B seafood firm Captain Fresh has raised Rs 100 crore (roughly $12 million) from Motilal Oswal Wealth Limited. This is the second financing round for the Bengaluru-based startup this year.
Captain Fresh's board has passed a special resolution to issue 1,002 preference shares at an issue price of Rs 9,98,399 apiece, raising Rs 100 crore or USD 12 million, according to a regulatory filing obtained from the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The latest money looks to be part of a pre-IPO round. According to media sources, the company has hired Axis Capital and BofA as bankers for a possible IPO worth USD 350-400 million.
The fundraising occurred 10 months after a $48 million round led by Japan-based SBI Investment, Evolvence Capital, UK-based British International Investment, and Nekkanti Seafoods Group, with participation from Matrix Partners, Ankur Capital, Prosus, and Tiger Global.
Captain Fresh has restructured by issuing preference shares in its Indian business to the owners of its Norwegian entity. According to a second resolution, the corporation allocated 2,355 preference shares worth Rs 235 crore ($28 million) to investors such as GRWC Holdings, Futura Simul Fundacja, Nathon G Torch, and Jeffery Stern as non-cash payment. After this investment, Motilal Oswal will own 2.26% of Captain Fresh. According to a credible startup data analytics platform, the company is valued at about Rs 4,424 crore, or $526 million post-allotments.
Captain Fresh, which has been in business for five years, has a product selection that includes over 100 species of fish and seafood imported from over a dozen nations worldwide and serves consumers in more than 30 countries. Captain Fresh operates offices in India, the United States, Dubai, Paris, Oslo, Amsterdam, and Madrid.
Captain Fresh has been on an acquisition spree in the ongoing calendar year, acquiring three companies: Paris-based shrimp cooker and distributor Senecrus, US-based CenSea, and Poland-based Koral.
The Tiger Global-backed company has yet to report its fiscal year 24 results. In FY23, revenue increased fourfold year on year to Rs 817 crore from Rs 208 crore in FY22. However, this strong expansion came at a cost, with losses increasing 2.8 times to Rs 296 crore during the same period. Motilal Oswal recently led a $350 million funding round for the rapid commerce platform Zepto and took part in Zomato's $1 billion fundraising via a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), acquiring more than 20% of the entire issue.
