Warburg pumps $100m into India’s top audio brand boAt

• Investment is expected to widen its R&D capabilities, ramp up its manufacturing and global supply chain.
• boAt’s aim is to establish India as a global supplier in hearable and wearable space.

An affiliate of New York-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus has pumped $100 million into India’s number one earwear audio brand – boAt.

In December 2020, boAt has overtaken brands like Xiaomi, Realme, JBL, Apple amongst others to rise to the top, according to the research firm Counterpoint Research, and has become the fifth-biggest wearable brand in the world, according to International Data Corporation, in the third quarter this year.

“The investment is a vote of confidence for our business model and growth prospects. The investment is great news for not only the company but for the entire direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector. The investment has come at the right time as we make efforts to ramp up our manufacturing and global supply chain,” Aman Gupta, Co-Founder of boAt, said.

The investment by Warburg Pincus is expected to enable the company to further fortify its leading market position, widen its R&D capabilities and product portfolio, and build on boAt’s efforts to create and support a manufacturing ecosystem under the “Make-in-India “initiative.

Next phase of growth

As boAt enters the next phase of growth and innovation, Sameer Mehta, Co-Founder, boAt, said that they look forward to benefitting from Warburg’s pedigree, collective experience and resources in helping us scale.

“Going forward, with the Government’s support, we will focus on building capabilities in domestic R&D and undertake vertical integration across both the hearable and wearable space to establish India as a global supplier,” he said.

Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to boAt and its shareholders on the transaction.

Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director and Head of Warburg Pincus India, said that they see a compelling growth story in boAt and believes the company is well-poised to build upon the strong leadership position it has carved out within the industry and stands to benefit from the secular tailwinds of e-commerce growth in India.

And Kanwaljit Singh, an early investor in boAt, Founder and Managing Partner at Fireside Ventures, expects that boAt has grown to become the market leader in the lifestyle accessories segment.

“It’s the perfect example of a consumer brand built successfully on quality, consumer insights, smart pricing, and focused marketing. Given our interest in the consumer brand category, we spotted and saw the prospects of a high-growth consumer start-up addressing the audio needs of millennial and Gen Z,” he said.