Zetwerk Advances Rs 5,012 Crore IPO as Top Domestic and Global Legal Firms Take Key Advisory Roles
Bengaluru-headquartered contract manufacturing and industrial supply-chain unicorn Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses Limited has advanced its initial public offering (IPO) aggregating to ₹5,012.33 crore (approximately $534.5 million), enlisting premier domestic and international law firms to steer the milestone public market listing.
The offering marks one of the most prominent listings from India's new-age industrial technology ecosystem, reflecting growing institutional appetite for asset-light, scalable manufacturing platforms aligned with the broader "Make in India" push.
Issue Structure and Size
The public offering comprises 332,007,155 equity shares of face value ₹1 each, structured as:
- Fresh Issue: ₹2,830 crore (187,482,119 equity shares) raised by the company to repay debt, finance capital expenditure, and fund general corporate purposes.
- Offer for Sale (OFS): ₹2,182.33 crore (144,525,036 equity shares) offloaded by existing promoters, promoter group members, and early-stage venture capital backers.
The transaction represents one of the rare initial public offerings where the size of the fresh issue was scaled up post the filing of draft papers, rising from an initial ₹2,600 crore to ₹2,830 crore to accommodate expanded growth requirements.
Top Legal Counsel Lead Advisory
Given the cross-border institutional marketing and the complex cap table involving marquee global venture capital firms, the transaction brought together India's top law firms alongside international counsel:
- Company Counsel: Trilegal acted as legal counsel to Zetwerk on domestic law, led by capital markets partners Vijay Parthasarathi and Vinay Sirohia, alongside corporate partners Kosturi Ghosh and Adhunika Premkumar.
- Selling Shareholders' Counsel: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) represented 21 selling shareholders, including early backers such as Peak XV Partners, Accel India, Lightspeed India Partners, Kae Capital, and Kalysta Capital Fund, under the leadership of partner Manshoor Nazki.
- Lead Managers' Domestic Counsel: Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (SAM) advised the syndicate of domestic book-running lead managers on Indian regulatory and securities law.
- Lead Managers' International Counsel: Latham & Watkins advised the merchant bankers on international legal aspects, including offerings to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A in the United States and Regulation S offshore transactions.
The syndicate of book-running lead managers includes Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Morgan Stanley India Company, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Avendus Capital, JM Financial, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), and Pantomath Capital Advisors.
Business Profile and Significance for Indian Investors
Founded in December 2017 by Amrit Acharya and Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Zetwerk operates as an asset-light, technology-driven platform that orchestrates manufacturing across industrial and consumer sectors. Its client base spans diverse high-growth industries:
- Renewable energy and utilities
- Consumer electronics and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware infrastructure
- Aerospace, defence, and space applications
- Industrial automation, heavy engineering, and oil and gas
For domestic market participants, Zetwerk’s listing offers a differentiated play within the startup and manufacturing landscape. While recent new-age tech listings have been dominated by consumer internet, fintech, and quick-commerce companies, Zetwerk introduces an enterprise-focused B2B contract manufacturing model. The company's dual listing on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and BSE Limited underscores the expanding depth of India's capital markets in absorbing large-scale industrial tech issuances.
