Dairy giant Milky Mist is planning a Rs 20,000 crore IPO to expand its dairy product portfolio and compete with Amul nationally. The IPO aims to boost Milky Mist’s presence in the North, West, and various regions of India, according to sources. The dairy giant is launching an IPO after discussions with investment firm WestBridge fell through.

WestBridge’s planned Rs 800 crore investment in Milky Mist, valuing it around Rs 7,000 crore, did not materialize. The investment firm has stakes in companies like Indigo Airlines and Dr Lal Pathlabs, among others, and also in startups such as Rapido, PhysicsWallah, Lead School, and Vedantu, etc.

The firm is currently led by T Sathish Kumar, his wife Anitha Sathish Kumar, and CEO K Rathnam, formerly the MD at Amul Dairy.

The company had attempted to raise private capital multiple times in the last decade but had backed off due to concerns about control and valuation. It primarily depends on bank loans for funding purposes and has received loans from renowned banks like Bank of Maharashtra and Union Bank, including a significant Rs 450 crore loan with interest rate subversions of up to 3%.

In the FY23-24, the company reported a revenue of Rs 1,950 crore, indicating a 35.7% increase from last year’s Rs 1,437 crore. Profit for the same period was around Rs 50 crore, which reflects a robust 78.57% rise from Rs 28 crore in FY22-23. These figures were sourced from private market data provider Tracxn, as per reports.