Ant-backed startup Zomato files for 82.5b rupee Mumbai IPO

[MUMBAI] Zomato, an Indian food delivery startup backed by Jack Ma's Ant Group, has filed an initial prospectus with Indian market regulator for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise as much as 82.5 billion rupees (S$1.47 billion).

The company plans to issue new shares to raise a maximum 75 billion rupees, while its major shareholder Info Edge India will offer 7.5 billion rupees worth of shares in the offering, according to documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Board of India on Wednesday. The filing confirmed a Bloomberg News report last month.

Zomato is also considering raising as much as 15 billion rupees before filing the red herring prospectus, which could potentially reduce the amount it plans to raise through selling new shares in the IPO, the company said.

At US$1.1 billion, Zomato's IPO would be India's biggest this year, surpassing Indian Railway Finance's US$649 million offering in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The startup's listing plans come as the pandemic has driven many Indian consumers to shift their spending online, bolstering the fortunes of e-commerce firms.

Nykaa E-Retail, backed by TPG Capital and online insurance aggregator Policy Bazaar are planning to go public in the local market as well, Bloomberg News has reported.

Zomato plans to use the proceeds to expand its business and for acquisitions. Kotak Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group, BofA Securities and Citigroup are arranging the IPO.

BLOOMBERG