Lava International in talks with PE funds to raise ₹500-600 crore

To sell 10-15% stake; planned IPO pushed to FY27

Lava International, India’s only home grown smartphone brand, is close to raising ₹500-600 crore from private equity investors via stake sale of 10-15 per cent, two people aware of the development said. The Noida-headquartered company’s initial public offering(IPO), which was planned for FY 26 earlier, has now been pushed to financial year 2027, one of the people said. 

 

“Talks are on with two Indian and one US-based private equity investor. Due diligence is going on, and it is likely to be concluded within next three to four months,” the first person aware of the details said, asking not to be named as the discussions were not in public domain. 

 

“An equity dilution of 10-15 per cent should take place. This can be considered as a pre-IPO fund raise,” the second person said. As per equity dilution, at the lower end the company may well be valued in the range of ₹3,300 crore and ₹5,000 crore, while on the higher end the valuation could range between ₹4,000 crore and ₹6,000 crore. 

 

Queries to Lava International sent last week did not elicit a response as of Thursday evening.

 

Lava International has managed to carve its own space in the Indian smartphone segment amid a slew of international brands, including Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Apple, having taken up the majority market share. 

 

Market watchers say the company has, in fact, managed to increase its market share, especially in the under ₹10,000 segment, which most global brands have peeled away from.

 

“Lava is regaining share in the Indian smartphone market and was the fastest growing brand year-on-year in sub ₹10,000 segment, and the second fastest growing brand in the overall smartphone market in April-June 2025 period,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research.

 

Year-on-year, it grew 156 per cent in the sub ₹10,000 segment and by 96 per cent in the overall market.  

 

“One of the key reasons for the growth was aggressive portfolio in sub ₹20,000 segment, including the Blaze, Storm and Agni series, by bringing features like fast charging, AMOLED display at competitive price points,” he said.  

Capital calls  Talks with PE investors to conclude within next few months 

Second fastest growing brand in smartphone market in 

April-June 2025 period

May be valued in the range of ₹3,300 crore to ₹6,000 crore

Firm is the fastest growing brand Y-o-Y in ₹10,000 segment 

Blaze, Storm and Agni series under ₹10,000 segment drives growth