INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Several big startups have lined up ambitious plans to come up with IPOsThe market for initial public offerings (IPOs) in India is turning
into a feeding frenzy.The amount of money raised in IPOs this year has reached $8.8 billion, already surpassing the totals of the past three
years though it's only August
Founders, bankers, lawyers and advisers are racing to cash in on fervent demand for fresh public offerings.The catalyst, in a word, is
Zomato Limited, the food-delivery startup went public in July and, despite deep losses and mediocre prospects for profitability, shares have
soared more than 70 per cent
That has fuelled the idea that similarly profit-challenged startups could find a strong reception from investors.Oyo Hotels - Homes Private
equity capital markets at Citigroup Inc., the lead foreign bank in Asia IPO league tables so far this year
performance of recent IPOs, such as Zomato, has fed the enthusiasm
Newly listed Indian stocks are beating the benchmark Nifty 50 Index by more than 40 percentage points this year, the biggest gap in seven
Paytm, the country's leader in digital payments, filed its preliminary offering documents, aiming to raise as much as 166 billion rupees
If it reaches that level, the IPO would be the country's largest debut ever, eclipsing the more than 150 billion rupees raised by
state-owned Coal India Limited.Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce giant controlled by Walmart Inc., is aiming for an IPO as soon as the fourth
quarter, Bloomberg News has reported
Byju's , a digital education startup valued at $16.5 billion, is in early discussions about an IPO and bankers are encouraging the company
Walmart acquired as part of its Flipkart deal, is considering shifting its incorporation back to India from Singapore to capture local
investor attention, according to two people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified
The regulatory upheaval in China has also sent investors looking for promising opportunities in countries with more predictable government
Labs did not respond to emails seeking comment.India's success with startups has long lagged beyond that of the United States or China
But this year has been something of a breakout
With the Covid-19 pandemic, many consumers have turned to online services for grocery deliveries and other e-commerce, along with math
tutoring and medical diagnoses
Revenue has surged.Global investors like Fidelity Investments, KKR - Co
and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte have pumped money into India, while China's crackdown on private enterprise has spooked financiers
The value of venture investments in India reached $7.9 billion in July, surpassing China for the first time on a monthly basis since 2013,
according to researcher Preqin Ltd.That kind of financing has helped India build a substantial blessing of unicorns, startups worth $1
Whereas the biggest IPOs of the past were conglomerate or state-backed companies like Coal India, startups are now leading the surge."Many
are at the forefront of multiple discussions, the people said
The hotel-booking company, run by 27-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, botched a global expansion with overly aggressive targets and then was
hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic
Oyo to survive as people stopped traveling and now bookings are recovering in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia
days.But the company made difficult changes to focus on the technology and services most valuable to its hotel partners
The startup recently secured a $660 million debt financing from global investors to service its existing loans.Work began this week on Oyo's
draft prospectus with the goal of filing with regulators within the next 10 weeks, said a person familiar with the developments
Two banks, Kotak and JPMorgan, have already been selected and Citi is close to being added to a lineup that's likely to grow
said.If Mr Agarwal does test the public markets, he will have plenty of company
Beauty retailer Nykaa filed its initial offering documents this month for a share later this year
API Holdings, the owner of the country's largest online pharmacy PharmEasy, is targeting an IPO of more than $1 billion with plans to file
parts of Southeast Asia, is being courted by bankers who claim it could reach a $10 billion valuation, according to a person with knowledge
