Waaree Energies Launches IPO Plans to Raise $300-350 Million

India’s prominent solar panel manufacturer, Waaree Energies, has announced its intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) with a target to raise between $300 and $350 million, as per insider information. The company is collaborating with investment banks Axis Capital, Jefferies, and Nomura for this offering, with plans to file the draft prospectus with the market regulator before the year’s end.

Waaree Energies, which currently has an installed capacity of 12 gigawatts (GW), is aiming for a valuation of up to $3 billion through the IPO. This comes after two successful fundraising rounds in which the company gathered ₹1,000 crore (approximately $134 million) each in August and October 2022, led by ValueQuest.

The proceeds from the IPO are intended to fund the company’s capital expenditure plans and repay existing debt. Additionally, the IPO could provide an exit avenue for earlier investors. Waaree Energies plans to enhance its solar cell manufacturing with a backward integration strategy targeting a capacity of 5.4 GW. Over the next two years, the company aims to increase its module capacity to 20 GW, cell capacity to 11.4 GW, and wafer manufacturing capacity to 6 GW.

The company has witnessed substantial growth in recent years, particularly due to U.S. import restrictions on certain Chinese goods, which affected the import of solar modules. By the end of FY23, Waaree reported an EBITDA exceeding ₹850 crore (around $114 million) and expects this to double in FY24.

Currently, Waaree Energies boasts an order book of about $5 billion and holds a significant market share in exports. Its manufacturing facilities for solar panels are located in Chikhli, Surat, and Umbergaon in Gujarat. Beyond manufacturing, Waaree also engages in engineering, procurement, and construction services, project development, solar rooftop solutions, solar inverters, and solar water pumps.

To bolster the renewable energy sector and decrease reliance on imports from China, the Indian government has allocated manufacturing capacity totaling 48,337 MW under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, of which Waaree secured 6,000 MW.

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