Captain Fresh reportedly preparing for USD 400 million IPO

Utham Gowda, CEO of Captain Fresh, speaking at the 2024 Global Shrimp Forum | Photo courtesy of Captain Fresh/LinkedIn

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Karnataka, India-based seafood marketplace Captain Fresh is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) valued at USD 400 million (EUR 370 million).

According to Indian financial news site Moneycontrol, anonymous sources close to the company have confirmed that Axis Capital and Bank of America would organize the IPO and that one or two more banks would likely join the project. The company is reportedly hoping to raise USD 350 million to USD 400 million (EUR 323 million to EUR 370 million) and seeking a valuation of USD 1.3 billion to USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 1.4 billion) for its public market listing.

The company declined to comment on the reports.

The company, which offers an e-commerce platform for seafood producers and retailers, has grown dramatically since its founding in 2019. Over the course of nine funding rounds, Captain Fresh previously raised USD 166 million (EUR 153 million) from 39 investors, including Prosus, Tiger Global Management, British International Investment, Ankur Capital, and Accel.

After finding success in the Indian market, it expanded into Western markets this year with acquisitions of the U.S.’s largest shrimp importer, Central Seaway Company (CenSea), and Polish salmon producer Koral.

At the time of the Koral acquisition, Captain Fresh CEO Utham Gowda called the purchase “a strategic milestone in our mission to become the leading tech-enabled, multi-species, multi-origin global seafood conglomerate.”

In April 2024, Gowda told SeafoodSource that he believed the company could close the year at a top line valuation of USD 650 million to USD 700 million (EUR 601 million to EUR 647 million).

The company also appointed two senior executives to roles in Europe: Basola Valles as CEO of the company's Europe operations and Luz Benitz Povedano as senior commercial director for the European Union.

News Source: https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/business-finance/india-s-captain-fresh-prepares-for-usd-400-million-ipo