Tonbo Imaging Cofounders Rake In ₹137 Cr From IPO

Tonbo Imaging’s promoters and investors have realised substantial gains from the company’s IPO, which closed earlier this week post witnessing an overwhelming demand from investors. The company’s three cofounders — CEO Arvind Lakshmikumar, CBO Ankit Kumar and chief commercial officer (CCO) Cecilia D’Souza — collectively pocketed ₹137.2 Cr from the defence tech company’s ₹852 Cr IPO. CEO Lakshmikumar raked in ₹80.5 Cr by offloading 11.5 Lakh shares at the upper end of the ₹665-700 price band. He continues to hold around 38.18 Lakh shares, making him one of the largest shareholders of Tonbo Imaging. Cofounder Kumar, who serves as the CBO and CRO of Tonbo, offloaded 5.8 Lakh shares worth ₹40.6 Cr and continues to hold 24.6 Lakh shares. Meanwhile CCO D’Souza, offloaded around 2.3 Lakh shares for ₹16.1 Cr. The largest selling shareholders in Tonbo Imaging’s IPO were its related entities, Bengaluru-based CEAQ Technologies Pvt Ltd and Singapore-based CEAQ Technologies Pte Ltd. The cofounders are the directors of these aforementioned entities as well. While CEAQ Technologies Pvt Ltd offloaded its entire shareholding of around 50 Lakh shares for ₹350 Cr, the Singapore-based entity sold 41.6 Cr shares to rake in ₹291 Cr. The Singapore-based entity continues to retain 1.05 Cr post the IPO. Early Investors Cash In Among other shareholders, Artiman, an early-stage sector agnostic venture fund, has made ₹13.8 Cr by selling 2 Lakh shares, clocking a return multiple of 4.8X on its investment. It will retain another 2 Lakh shares, valued at ₹13.8 Cr at the upper price band. Amit Dilip Shah, who is a partner at Artiman, individually sold 84,000 shares for ₹5.9 Cr at ₹700 apiece, translating to a 4.1X return, while his remaining 1.4 Lakh shares are worth ₹9.8 Cr. Ramesh Radhakrishnan, also a partner at Artiman, offloaded 80,000 shares for ₹5.6 Cr, realising a 4.8X return on his initial investment. He will retain 1.2 Lakh shares valued at ₹8.7 Cr. Promoter group entity Vinimaya Advisory LLP sold 3.4 Lakh shares for ₹23.8 Cr, implying a 3.6X return multiple. It will retain 3.2 Lakh shares worth ₹22.4 Cr. Tonbo’s Road To The Bourses The trio cofounded the defence tech company in 2003 as a defense electronics and embedded vision business. The company grew into a major global OEM for thermal imaging cores, weapon sights, and missile guidance systems serving government agencies, military organisations, and defense contractors across 24 countries. The company's operating revenue declined 22.7% to ₹362.6 Cr in FY26 from ₹469.1 Cr in FY25. Net profit fell to ₹50.8 Cr from ₹72.8 Cr in the previous year. In Q1 FY27, the company reported operating revenue of ₹36 Cr and a net loss of ₹17.7 Cr. The Indian government is a primary customer, making up 71% of Tonbo's revenue in FY26. Tonbo Imaging’s ₹852 Cr IPO consisted entirely of an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 1.22 Cr equity shares, with no fresh issue component. The IPO valued the company at ₹4,009.8 Cr (about $480 Mn) at the upper end of the price band. The IPO closed for subscription on October 19 with a 136X oversubscription. Investors bidding for 115.87 Cr shares against the 85.26 Lakh shares on offer. The allotment of shares materialised today. Ahead of the IPO, Tonbo Imaging allotted 36.5 Lakh shares to 43 anchor investors raising ₹255.4 Cr. 12 domestic mutual funds, SBI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset, anchored the IPO.  

Source: Inc42 (India)