PremiumThe proposed IPO will be a mix of primary and secondary share sales as some of the existing backers of the company want to sell part of their shares in the IPO, while fresh fundraising will be used to bolster its back-end and the online shopping portal
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Naaptol Online Shopping Pvt. Ltd, which runs teleshopping and online shopping platforms, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) that could see the company raise as much as ₹1,000 crore, said two people aware of the development.
Naaptol was founded in 2008 as a TV-first platform for product discovery. It sells products through TV channels in multiple languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.
“The company is already working on its draft prospectus. They are being advised by investment banks ICICI Securities and Anand Rathi. The proposed IPO will be a mix of primary and secondary share sales as some of the existing backers of the company want to sell part of their shares in the IPO, while fresh fundraising will be used to bolster its back-end and the online shopping portal," said one of the people cited above, requesting anonymity.
“The company hopes that its omnichannel platform with a mix teleshopping and ecommerce will help it stand apart from other ecommerce companies and attract investors," he added.
Naaptol is backed by investors such as Japan’s Mitsui & Co., JP Morgan and venture capital investor New Enterprise Associates. Naaptol raised $15 million from these investors in 2018 and $51.7 million in 2015 in a larger fundraise.
Naaptol founder and chief executive officer Manu Agarwal declined to comment on the company’s IPO plans.
While the company saw flattish revenue for fiscal 2021, it managed to turn in marginal profits compared with a loss in the previous fiscal. It recorded a consolidated revenue of ₹318.87 crore in FY21, against ₹321.22 crore in FY20.
However, it managed to swing its operations from a loss of ₹51.84 crore in FY20 to a profit of ₹3.42 crore in FY21.
The Indian IPO market is continuing to see strong activity after raising a record ₹1.18 trillion in calendar year 2021. IPOs worth more than ₹1 trillion are already in the pipeline.
Companies such as Adani Wilmar Ltd and AGS Transact Technologies have launched their initial share sale in January and ethnic wear retailer Manyavar’s share sale will open next week.
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