ELP, AZB act on Waterways Leisure Tourism proposed ₹727 Crore IPO

Waterways Leisure Tourism, the parent company of Cordelia Cruises—India's only domestic ocean cruise brand, on June 17, officially filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI to raise ₹727 crore via an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

AZB & Partners is acting for the company according to DRHP.

Economic Laws Practice (ELP) advised the book running lead managers—Centrum Capital Limited, Intensive Fiscal Services Private Limited, and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Limited—on the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filing for the proposed IPO.

The transaction team was led by Geeta Dhania (Partner) and Prashaant Vikram Rajput (Partner), and assisted by Himani Sharma (Counsel), Ridhi Jain (Senior Associate), Anusha Agrawal, Devika Radha, Shefali Jain and Arpita Pattnaik (Associates).

The issue comprises entirely fresh shares, with proceeds primarily earmarked for leasing or placing security deposits for cruise vessels through its subsidiary Baycruise IFSC.

The company operates the MV Empress and holds a 65% market share in India’s ocean cruise sector as of December 2024. It plans to expand its fleet with the addition of two large ships—Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun. For the nine months ended December 2024, Waterways Leisure posted a net profit of ₹139.3 crore on revenue of ₹409.5 crore.

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