One97 Communications (Paytm) is on track to become a publicly-traded company post-Diwali this year. The Securities and Exchange Bureau of India on 25th October gave Paytm the green signal for its IPO, which will be the largest ever in India. Paytm has received the market regulator’s approval for its Rs 16,600-crore hugely anticipated initial public offering. Out of which new issues will consist of the value of Rs 8,300 crore and Rs 8,300 crore through an offer for sale, in which existing investors will sell a chunk or a whole lot of their shares.
Paytm is looking to list in early November, as per the sources, but it seems to end up missing its earlier target to launch its IPO before November 4. Whatsoever it may be, it will be a publicly-traded company by the second week of November, they said.
Paytm aims for a valuation of around $20 billion in its IPO. Many global investors have shown positive interest in an even higher valuation but the company confirms to the investors that it will settle somewhere between $20-$22 billion.
On the contrary, few other sources close to the SEBI indicated that the response to the issue had been muted, giving it a lower valuation. The company was last valued around two years ago at around $16 billion in a $1 billion funding round.
The IPO has caught the international attraction with the interests of Canada’s CPPIB, US-based asset manager Alkeon Capital, funds managed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and others. The company’s current investors include Ant Group, Alibaba, Elevation Capital, and Softbank Vision Fund.
The company will decide the price band next week with the expectation to raise around $7.4 billion for the IPO.
The Rs 5,200-crore IPO includes a primary issuance of up to Rs. 630 crores. The rest will be raised through an offer for sale, wherein the existing shareholders will sell up to 43.11 million shares.
Other Indian startups looking to go public in the next few months are Policy Bazaar, Mobikwik, and Delhivery.
