Tonbo Imaging India Ltd’s ₹852 crore initial public offering was subscribed four times on its opening day on Thursday, October 15, led by strong demand from non-institutional investors, employees, qualified institutional buyers and retail investors. The Bengaluru-based defence electronics maker’s issue closes on Monday, October 19.
By 5 pm, the non-institutional investor portion was subscribed 5.96 times, while the employee category was subscribed 6.51 times. Qualified institutional buyers subscribed 3.92 times their allocation and retail investors subscribed 3.20 times. The issue was fully subscribed across all investor categories within hours of opening.
Ahead of the public issue, Tonbo Imaging raised ₹255.36 crore through its anchor book by allotting 36,48,013 equity shares to institutional investors. The participants included domestic mutual funds and insurance companies, as well as global investors such as Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors and The Prudential Assurance Company.
The IPO is entirely an offer for sale by existing shareholders, meaning Tonbo Imaging will not receive any proceeds from the issue. The price band has been fixed at ₹665–₹700 per share, with the upper end matching the price used in secondary transactions before the IPO.
Secondary share transactions worth more than ₹413 crore were executed on September 29 and 30 at ₹700 per share, valuing the company at approximately ₹4,000 crore on a fully diluted basis. The shares were transferred by existing investors CEAQ Singapore and CEAQ India to domestic and international institutional investors. Amansa Investments was the largest buyer, acquiring 24.32 lakh shares.
Tonbo Imaging develops and manufactures sensing, processing, communication and guidance systems used in surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting and control. Its portfolio includes thermal imaging cores, weapon sights, handheld thermal imaging binoculars, targeting systems, missile seekers and fire control systems. The company operates through its Tactical Systems and Platform Systems verticals and is also developing directed-energy systems intended to counter drone swarms.
As of June 30, 2026, Tonbo said it had deployed more than 28,000 systems across 24 countries. Its products are designed and developed in India, allowing its electro-optics and infrared portfolio to remain free from US International Traffic in Arms Regulations restrictions. Since FY24, the company has owned 100 per cent of the intellectual property used in its products.
The company follows an asset-light operating model. Design, prototyping and testing are undertaken at its Bengaluru research and development centre, while large-scale manufacturing is outsourced to certified electronics manufacturing partners. This model places the city-based R&D operation at the centre of Tonbo’s product development and intellectual-property ownership strategy.
However, the company has reported a decline in financial performance. Revenue from operations fell 22.69 per cent to ₹362.65 crore in FY26 from ₹469.08 crore in FY25, while profit after tax declined to ₹50.88 crore from ₹72.76 crore. Tonbo attributed the revenue decline primarily to delays in executing international orders because of the West Asia conflict and the deferment of certain anticipated orders to FY27.
In the first quarter of FY27, revenue from operations stood at ₹36.01 crore and the company reported a net loss of ₹17.74 crore. Tonbo attributed the result to lower revenue recognition amid seasonal factors and slower order execution. Brokerage houses including SBI Cap Securities, ICICI Direct and Ventura Securities have assigned a Subscribe rating to the IPO. The issue remains open until October 19.
