Indiamart.com, one of the largest online listing platforms for small and medium businesses in India, will soon file draft papers for its initial share sale, two people aware of the development said.
The proposed initial public offering (IPO) could see the company raise as much as ₹600 crore, said the first of the two people cited above, on the condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
“Indiamart is working on an IPO that could see it raise around ₹500-600 crore through a mix of primary and secondary share sale,” he said. “Some of the investors of the company could sell part of their stakes. The final details of these are yet to be formalized.”
Indiamart could file its draft red herring prospectus as early as next month, he added.
According to the second person, investment banks ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services and a foreign investment bank are advising the company on the initial share sale. He, too, requested anonymity.
Dinesh Agarwal, founder and chief executive officer of Indiamart.com, declined to comment on the company’s IPO plans. Emails sent to ICICI Securities and Edelweiss did not elicit a response.
In March 2016, Indiamart raised an undisclosed amount in Series C funding led by Amadeus Capital. Westbridge, UK- based Quona Capital and existing investor Intel Capital, too, participated in the round. It also counts Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd as one of its investors.
Indiamart started out as an online directory for businesses in India. It launched Tolexo, an online retail marketplace for consumers and businesses to shop on the web, in June 2014.
According to the company’s website, Indiamart caters to more than 58 million buyers, with over 4.6 million suppliers selling over 65 million products. It has more than 3,500 employees across 80 offices in the country. On the other hand, Tolexo claims to have over 1 million products with more than 7,000 sellers and around 8,000 brands.
Last year, online matchmaking services provider Matrimony.com went public with a ₹500 crore IPO, which saw its venture capital investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Mayfield India sell part of their stakes.
Other such companies that have gone public in the recent past include e-commerce company Infibeam Incorporation Ltd and Sequoia Capital-backed antivirus software maker Quick Heal Technologies Ltd.
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This article was first published on Livemint.com
