Exclusive: Captain Fresh lines up debt funding before public listing

B2B seafood supply chain company, Captain Fresh is raising Rs 45 ($5.3 million) in debt funding from Lighthouse Canton and Stride Ventures ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO).

The Bengaluru-based company recently transitioned into a public entity, as exclusively reported by Entrackr a couple of weeks ago.

As per its filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Captain Fresh’s board has passed resolutions to issue 4,500 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with a face value of Rs 1,00,000 each to raise the aforementioned amount.

Notably, the company has already received Rs 30 crore from Lighthouse Cantor, with the remaining amount expected to follow shortly.

The Tiger Global-backed company reportedly plans to file its IPO papers in mid-August and is in talks to raise $50–75 million in a pre-IPO round ahead of its proposed $400 million initial public offering. It has also roped in Axis Capital and Bank of America (BofA) as lead bankers for the issue.

Founded in 2019 by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh is a multi-species seafood brand that provides a platform for sourcing and supplying animal protein, including fish, crabs, lobsters, and other seafood.

According to the startup data intelligenc platform TheKredible, Captain Fresh has raised over $200 million to date, including a $30 million pre-IPO round in January this year from Prosus, Accel, Tiger Global, and others. Matrix Partners, Accel, Tiger Global, Ankur Capital, and Prosus are some notable investors for Captain Fresh.

While the company has yet to disclose its FY25 numbers, Captain Fresh’s gross revenue (GMV) rose 71% to Rs 1,395 crore in FY24 from Rs 817 crore in FY23. The company also reduced its net loss by 22%, bringing it down to Rs 229 crore in the same period.