Aequs DRHP: Shareholding Structure & Leadership Breakdown

After getting SEBI’s nod for its confidential DRHP, contract manufacturer Aequs filed an updated DRHP for its IPO earlier this week. The company’s public issue will comprise issuance of fresh shares worth up to INR 720 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 3.2 Cr equity shares.

Amicus Capital, Melligeri Private Family Foundation, and Ravindra Mariwala will be offloading their stake via OFS route. Amicus Capital plans to sell 2.7 Cr shares of Aequs via its three funds – Amicus Capital Private Equity I, Amicus Capital Partners India Fund II, and Amicus Capital Partners India Fund I. While Melligeri Private Family Foundation would offload up to 13.1 Lakh shares, Ravindra Mariwala would sell up to 12.7 Lakh shares.

Aequs’ updated DRHP also revealed the current shareholding pattern of the company. In total, it has 104 shareholders as of now. The largest chunk is held by the principal promoter and holding company Aequs Manufacturing Investments Pvt Ltd (AMIPL), which owns a 48.07% stake in the company.

The promoters of the company – Aravind Melligeri, AMIPL, Melligeri Private Family Foundation and The Melligeri Foundation – together hold 65.06% stake in Aequs.

Aravind Melligeri, the founder of Aequs, holds 0.17% stake in the company. Meanwhile Melligeri Private Family Foundation owns 16.82% stake. PE firm Amicus Capital holds over 7.5% stake in Aequs via two funds, after leading INR 225 Cr funding round in the company in 2023.

Aequs will also consider raising a pre-IPO placement of up to INR 144 Cr. Earlier in July, Aequs raised INR 128 Cr via a rights issue, which was led by its holding company Aequs Manufacturing Investments Pvt Ltd.

The manufacturing company plans to use proceeds from the fresh issue for repayment of loans worth INR 419.2 Cr, infusing INR 67.5 Cr in purchase of machinery, and fueling unidentified acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.

Founded by Melligeri in 2006, Aequs is a contract manufacturing company which caters to multiple sectors including aerospace, toys and consumer durable goods industries. With its manufacturing facilities across India, France and the US, Aequs serves global clients, including Airbus, Boeing, Safran, Dassault, and Collins Aerospace, and also manufactures parts for Apple MacBooks and watches.

Aequs’ Pre-IPO Financial Trajectory

The company’s net loss for the fiscal ended March 2025 skyrocketed nearly 7X to INR 102.3 Cr from INR 14.2 Cr in FY24. The primary reason behind the sharp increase in loss was impairment on goodwill of INR 48.3 Cr, which was allocated towards its subsidiary Aequs Consumer Products Pvt Ltd (AFCPPL).

Meanwhile, revenue from operations declined 4.19% to INR 924.6 Cr in FY25 from INR 965 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The company majorly generates its revenue from two main segments: aerospace and consumer. The aerospace segment contributed INR 824.6 Cr to revenue in FY25, while the consumer division brought in INR 100 Cr in revenue.

The US and France accounted for the biggest chunk of Aequs’ revenue at 23% and 22%, respectively. Rest of the share was contributed by Germany (12%), India (11%), the UK, Sweden, and Hong Kong.

The company also saw a marginal 1% jump in its total expenses to INR 851.2 Cr during the year from INR 842.8 Cr in FY24.

Now, let’s take a look at Aequs’ board and leadership team.

Decoding Aequs’ Leadership Deck Board of Directors Aravind Shivaputrappa Melligeri

Melligeri founded Aequs in 2006. Currently, he serves the company’s board as the chairman and CEO. He has more than two decades of experience in the aerospace industry. In March 2025, Melligeri acquired an additional 5 Lakh equity shares in Aequs from Aequs Stock Option Plan Trust. He took a remuneration of INR 4.4 Cr in FY25.

Rajeev Kaul

Serving Aequs’ board as the MD, Kaul bagged an annual salary of INR 1.8 Cr during the fiscal under review. He is responsible for the overall operations and performance of different verticals of the company, including aerospace and consumer durable goods.

He has been associated with the company since 2007. Before taking over the role of MD, Kaul led the finances at Aequs as the CFO.

Ajay Aravind Prabhu

Prabhu is a non-executive director. He holds a masters degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate degree in micro and millimeter wave electronics. He also serves as the president for technology at Global Quest.

Eberhard Klaus Richter

Richter joined Aequs’ board in 2021 as an independent director. He has more than 22 years of experience in procurement, materials management, and business management. Earlier, he worked with notable companies like Airbus SAS, Diehl Verwaltungs-Stiftung, the BMW Group, McKinsey & Company, Inc among others. Richter holds a doctorate degree in robotics.

Vidya Sarathy

Sarathy is also an independent director on Aequs’ board since April 2025. Sarathy has more than 23 years of experience in finance, and worked with companies like Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Limited, 3M India Limited, Lifestyle International Private Limited, Tata Motors Limited, among others, earlier.

Anup Wadhawan

The former Union commerce secretary joined the board of Aequs as an independent director in April this year. Over the course of his career of 35 years in government service, Wadhawan held key roles such as joint secretary in the finance ministry and director at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Key Managerial Personnel Dinesh Venkatachalam Iyer

Iyer, who joined Aequs in 2022, is the company’s CFO. He is responsible for the management of finance, including corporate governance, risk management, treasury and funding, among others.

Previously, he worked with Biocon Biologics, Syngene International and Dell International Services India. Iyer received an aggregate compensation of INR 1.22 Cr in FY25.

Ravi Mallikarjun Hugar

Hugar is the company secretary and compliance officer, and has been associated with Aequs since July 2, 2007. He has an overall experience of about 17 years and is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

He received an aggregate compensation of INR 54.2 Lakh from the company in FY25.

Ravi Guttal

Guttal is the chief technology officer and senior vice president of engineering and quality since February 16, 2022. He was previously associated with KLE Technological University. Guttal received an aggregate compensation of INR 74.1 Lakh in FY25.

Vikas Goel

Goel is the president of advanced technology products at Aequs’s subsidiary Aequs Consumer Products Pvt Ltd. He joined the company on December 11, 2023, overseeing the consumer electronics business. Goel was previously associated with Havells India, Schneider Electric India and GE India Industrial Private Limited. He received a remuneration of INR 1.40 Cr from Aequs in fiscal year 2025.

Kapil Mahajan

Mahajan joined as the chief human resource officer of the company in June this year. Prior to that, he worked at Tata Advanced Systems for more than seven years. He has an overall experience of 26 years, and previously worked with Reliance Communications, Aditya Birla Retail, Pfizer, among others.

Mohamed Bouzidi

Bouzidi is the president of aerospace at Aequs Aerospace France. He has been associated with the company since April 1, 2020, overseeing operations and performance of different business verticals in the aerospace 360 division of Aequs.

Previously, he worked with Aubert & Duval and Snecma Moteurs. Bouzidi received a remuneration of INR 1.90 Cr from the company in FY25.

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