One of India’s leading automotive technology companies and a major manufacturer and supplier to global EV markets, Sona Comstar has filed its papers with the regulator to raise an aggregate of Rs 6,000 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). 

The company intends to utilise the proceeds from the fresh issue to repay/prepay Rs 225 crore of its borrowings besides general corporate purposes.

The Gurgaon-headquartered company is one of India’s leading automotive technology companies, designing, manufacturing and supplying highly engineered, mission critical automotive systems and components such as differential assemblies, differential gears, conventional and micro-hybrid starter motors, BSG systems, EV traction motors and motor control units to automotive OEMs across the US, Europe, India and China, for both electrified and non-electrified powertrain segments and are not dependent on a single product, vehicle segment, customer or geography.

It also stands to be one of the two largest exporters of starter motors from India besides being the largest manufacturer of differential gears for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractors in India. Some of its key OEM customers include a global OEM of EVs, a North American OEM of Passenger Vehicles and Commercial Vehicles, Ashok Leyland, Daimler, Escorts, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mahindra Electric, Maruti Suzuki, Renault Nissan, Volvo and Volvo Eicher.

Between FY2016 to FY2020, the company says it has seen its total operating income grow at the CAGR of 10.9%. In FY2020, as compared to the top 10 publicly listed auto component manufacturers in India by market capitalisation, Sona BLW Precision Forgings has the highest operating EBITA margin, PAT margin, ROCE and ROE.

Blackstone had acquired Comstar Automotive Technologies in 2017 and in 2018, it acquired Sona BLW Precision Forgings. The two entities merged to form Sona Comstar.  Blackstone holds 66.28 percent stake and Sona Autocomp 33.72 percent in the merged entity.