The stellar IPO of Zomato has shown the way, and other firms are now committed to walking down the same path and get spectacular returns. Firms like PolicyBazaar and CarTrade hqve already filed for IPOs, and this time they have been joined by AI-based travel booking app ixigo, which is looking to raise ₹1,600 crores via its initial public offering (IPO) and has filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for the same.
The IPO is set to witness the exit of Micromax (which will sell shares worth $200 crores) and Elevation Capital (which will sell shares worth $550 crores), as well as the sale of the stakes of Group CEO and co-founder Aloke Bajpai and Group CPTO and co-founder Rajnish Kumar (shares worth $50 crores each). Its earlier investor MakeMyTrip had already exited the company earlier with returns of nearly 8 times on its investment of nearly $5 million.
As per the DRHP, which was filed on Thursday, ixigo’s IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth ₹750 crores and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth ₹850 crores from its existing investors. The Gurugram-based start-up, whose parent company is Le Travenues Technology Ltd, counts among its backers names like Sequoia Capital, Elevation Capital (formerly Saif Partners), GIC, and Micromax.
“Our Company expects to receive the benefits of listing of the Equity Shares on the Stock Exchanges, including among other things, enhancement of our Company’s brand name among existing and potential users and creation of a public market for the Equity Shares in India,” the DRHP stated. It added that the proceeds would be utilized for organic and inorganic growth initiatives, general corporate purposes, and listing benefits.
With a more than 250 million user base, the 14-year-old ixigo empowers Indian travellers to organize, plan, book, and manage their trips by leveraging the latest AI, machine learning, and data science technologies. It also provides real-time prices and availability for flights, trains, buses, cabs, hotels, and destinations.
Launched by Bajpai and Kumar and currently valued at nearly $850 million, the firm had acquired Bengaluru-based online train discovery and booking platform Confirmtkt for an undisclosed amount and AbhiBus, a Hyderabad-based bus ticketing and aggregation platform.
The start-up also raised $53 million as part of its pre-IPO round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and other investors such as Info Edge Ventures, White Oak, Bay Capital, Orios Venture Partners, Trifecta Capital, and Malabar Investments.
The pandemic may have worked wonders for the edtech sector, but the travel and hospitality industries have been some of the worst-hit sectors by the pandemic. These sectors have seen a slow but gradual revival of their fortunes as the vaccination process continues (mainly abroad) and India is catching up as well.
