The IPO of automotive wiring harness supplier Dhoot Transmission (DTL) is open for subscription from August 10-12. The ₹3,067-crore issue is a combination of fresh issue of shares worth ₹1,400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) worth ₹1,667 crore. A group entity of American private equity firm Bain Capital, which currently controls 55 per cent of the stake in DTL and another promoter group entity are set to offload 8.5 per cent and 1.65 per cent of pre-IPO stake in the OFS. Following the issue, the promoter and promoter group’s stake is expected to decline to 82.8 per cent from nearly 100 per cent currently. Of the ₹1,400 crore raised, DTL aims to utilise ₹767 crore to fully pay down debt, ₹150 crore to expand wiring harness capacity and the rest to fund acquisitions (not identified yet) and general corporate purposes.
At the upper end of the price band, the IPO values DTL at a market cap of ₹17,816 crore or 43x adjusted FY26 earnings. This is on par with comparable listed peers Motherson Sumi Wiring (MSW) and Minda Corporation, but fares better on growth, margin and balance sheet strength.
While valuation is in line with peers, it is not inexpensive per se. However, given DTL’s recent growth and its ability to benefit from the electrification of India’s vehicle fleet, investors with high risk appetite and a long-term perspective can consider subscribing to the IPO. Also, we would like investors to take note of details discussed under ‘Deals with Bain’.
Business
DTL is a supplier of electrical and electronic components for automotive applications. It designs, manufactures and sells wiring harnesses, sensors & controllers (such as side stand position sensor, ABS wheel speed sensor, temperature sensor and USB chargers) and automotive switches (push button switches, ON/OFF rocker switches, rotary switches, etc.). Besides, it also assembles battery packs for EV OEMs.
Wiring harnesses make about 80 per cent of revenue (77 per cent in FY26) and other products account for the rest. DTL is among the top two suppliers of wiring harnesses for two-wheelers (2Ws) with a 38 per cent market share and the leader in wiring harnesses for three-wheelers (3Ws) at over 70 per cent. MSW and Minda Corporation are other major suppliers. However, MSW largely supplies to 4Ws (64 per cent of revenue), with only about 12 per cent of its ₹11,478-crore revenue derived from 2Ws. Minda Corp is a diversified player with wiring harness accounting for 31 per cent of its ₹6,185-crore revenue.
Based on FY26 figures, DTL derived 90 per cent of its revenue from India and the rest overseas. End-market wise, it derived 65 per cent and 13 per cent of revenue from 2Ws and 3Ws respectively and the rest from commercial and off-highway vehicles. The product portfolio is almost entirely powertrain-agnostic — meaning, both EVs and ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles need wiring harnesses and sensors to run. About 24 per cent of revenue is from EV applications and the rest from ICE.
What numbers say
DTL’s revenue and net profit have grown at strong CAGRs of 27 per cent and 17 per cent over FY24-26. It earns an EBITDA margin in the range of 15-17 per cent, higher than MSW’s 9-12 per cent and Minda Corp’s 11-12 per cent (FY24-26). Per the management, the margin decline in FY26 was due to commodity inflation towards the end of the year. However, based on how the industry works, margin can reasonably be expected to rebound as customer compensation typically follows with a lag after DTL first absorbs the inflation. Tangible fixed assets turnover ratio stood at 3.7x for FY26 and RoCE at 19.2 per cent. RoCE is down from 33.6 per cent in FY24 largely because of a ₹2,000-odd crore equity infusion by promoter BC Asia XV (a Bain Capital entity) in FY26. DTL, which had a net-debt to equity of 0.8x as of FY25, turned net debt free as of FY26, by virtue of the same capital infusion.
What works
DTL is well placed to benefit from the electrification of India’s vehicle fleet and the growing adoption of connected vehicle technologies, including cloud integration, telematics, real-time diagnostics and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Simply put, these imply the use of more wires and sensors. According to the prospectus, wiring content in an electric 2W (e-2W) can be 1.5-2.5x that of an ICE vehicle, for instance.
e-2W and e-3W sales growth is expected to outpace the overall 2W and 3W sales growth in the coming years. This is driven by lower total cost of ownership (lifetime cost) and government policy continuing to favour EVs — GST at 5 per cent versus 18 per cent/40 per cent on ICE, for instance, besides other incentives.
Per a Crisil report in the RHP, e-2Ws are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35-37 per cent between FY26 and FY31 — higher than the 5-7 per cent expected for the overall 2W market. EV penetration (EVs as a percentage of annual sales) in 2Ws, which had steadily risen to 6.6 per cent in FY26, now stands at 9.7 per cent for FY27 year-to-date and is expected to reach 40 per cent by FY30. Adoption is significantly higher in 3Ws at 31.6 per cent in FY26. At the overall industry level (2W, 3W, cars, trucks), electric penetration is expected to reach 28-32 per cent by FY31 from the current 6.9 per cent. While the projections may not exactly materialise, the direction towards electrification should be the takeaway. All this means that the domestic wiring harness market (for 2W, 3W, trucks) is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12-14 per cent over FY26-31, while that for EVs is expected to grow at a quicker clip of 33-35 per cent.
DTL’s battery pack business could ride the growth in sale of EVs. Besides, it plans to foray into power electronics which include chargers, charging cords and DC-DC converters for e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-4Ws e-trucks. Apart from the proposed capex of ₹150 crore, the company is also looking at inorganic growth opportunities. It has recently concluded the acquisition of Multilink, a supplier of fuel level sensors and relays, at a cost of ₹421 crore. It has also established a joint venture with Israel-based Ride Vision for the supply of ADAS systems. All these serve as growth levers in addition to expanding wallet share with existing customers.
Deals with Bain
As said earlier, Bain Capital (through BC Asia XV) has invested ₹1,977 crore in DTL via private placements — one in April 2025 and the other in March 2026. This is on top of a secondary market purchase of shares from the promoter in April 2025, resulting in BC Asia XV gaining a stake of 55 per cent. BC Asia XV’s weighted average cost per share after adjusting for stock splits and bonuses works out to about ₹480. At the IPO price, BC Asia XV would’ve sold 8.5 per cent of its pre-IPO stake at a substantially-higher ₹871 per share. The fact that the asking price has gone up over 80 per cent in a matter of 16 months is to be noted. Shares of peers (see table) are up anywhere between 21 and 76 per cent in the same period.
In a separate deal, DTL had engaged Bain Capital Advisors (India) to obtain consulting services on mergers and acquisitions besides day-to-day operations in April 2025. The deal entails payment of about ₹12 crore a year for five years. DTL has paid the first instalment of ₹12 crore in FY26. However, under the deal terms, if DTL completes an IPO before the end of the five-year term, it must pay Bain Capital Advisors an upfront ₹60 crore, less any amount already paid (₹12 crore). This means that post the IPO, DTL would shell out ₹48 crore to honour its obligation under this deal.
Published on August 8, 2026
