Pre-IPO Buzzers: IXIGO flies high, OYO slumps, Mobikwik makes a comeback

Out of the nine new-age technology companies likely to go public in the upcoming fiscal year, three stocks are buzzing in the unlisted market with divergent trends.

Shares of travel aggregator Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of ticket booking firm IXIGO, have jumped 81 percent to Rs 145 in the last one year even as shares of OYO have fallen and digital payment platform Mobikwik is crawling back to the level seen a year ago after a sharp correction. Market sources suggest that the continuous decline in OYO’s valuation is because of ambiguity over its listing because of poor appetite for the stock at prevailing valuations.

In September 2022, Sofbank was reported to have slashed its internal valuation of OYO to $2.7 billion, compared to $3.4 billion earlier.

“We are witnessing notable activity in OYO's unlisted shares, spurred by a substantial correction,” said Manan Doshi, co-founder of Unlisted Arena. The Ritesh Agarwal-founded venture which runs an online hotel booking platform as well as a chain of leased and franchised hotels has fallen over 16 percent to Rs 57 from Rs 68 earlier this financial year. Media reports suggest that OYO may be going in for a private fundraiser, rather than an IPO now.

The two digital companies that are buzzing in the unlisted market, however, are digital payment firm Mobikwik and IXIGO. Mobikwik shares were trading at around Rs 650 last year but fell to 320-330 levels, and are now back at Rs 600 levels. “This year has witnessed a notable reversal, with certain unlisted stocks such as IXIGO and Mobikwik experiencing remarkable surges from their previous lows. The resurgence in prices and market activity is because IPO plans of these companies look imminent now,” Doshi said.

Not excluding OYO, a total of nine new-age tech companies (NATCs) are likely to float their public issues with plans to raise roughly Rs 21,000 crore, according to Prime Database. The six companies, apart from OYO, IXIGO and Mobikwik, include Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma-backed Go Digit General Insurance, Healthvista, which operates the brand Protea, Ratan Tata-backed Firstcry, OLA Electric, Awfis Space and Unicommerce.

Only Go Digit General Insurance and Healthvista (Protea) have received Sebi's nod to go public, while others are still awaiting approval.

Go Digit General Insurance

Go Digit General Insurance, backed by Canada-based Fairfax Group, received the Sebi go-ahead to raise funds earlier this month. The IPO comprises fresh shares of Rs 1,250 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 10.94 crore shares by promoter Go Digit Infoworks Services and existing shareholders. Cricketer Virat Kohli invested Rs 2 crore, while Anushka Sharma bought shares worth Rs 50 lakh in 2020. According to Prime Database, the total issue size could be around Rs 3,500 crore.

Healthvista (Protea)

Protea parent Healthvista received the Sebi nod to go public on March 31, 2023. The offer comprises fresh issuance of shares Rs 200 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 5.62 crore shares by investors. The total issue size is expected to be around Rs 1,000 crore, as per the Prime Database.

OYO, IXIGO, Mobikwik await Sebi nod

Oravel Stays (OYO)

A month ago it seemed like the two-year-long delay in hotel aggregator OYO’s public market debut may finally end as SoftBank Vision Funds, one of its largest backers, said that it expects the company’s IPO to happen in 2024. But market sources suggest that may not be the case after all.  At the unlisted price of Rs 57, the company is valued at approximately Rs 27,000 crore, according to Unlisted Arena.

The company's net profit doubled sequentially to Rs 30 crore in Q3FY24 from Rs 16 crore in Q2FY24.

Le Travenues Technology (IXIGO)

Backed by SAIF Partners India IV, Peak XV and Micromax, the travel aggregator refiled the draft papers with SEBI for fundraising through an IPO earlier this year. The IPO is a mix of fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 120 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 6,66,77,674 equity shares by the existing shareholders.

In the nine months ended December FY24, the company clocked a net profit of Rs 65.7 crore, increasing 252 percent from Rs 18.66 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations for the same period stood at Rs 491.02 crore, up 35 percent from Rs 364.3 crore. At the unlisted price of Rs 145, the market capitalisation approximately stands at Rs 5,380 crore, according to Unlisted Arena.

One MobiKwik Systems

Bajaj Finance-backed fintech MobiKwik slashed its issue size to Rs 700 crore from Rs 1,900 crore and refiled the draft papers with the SEBI  to raise funds. The offer will be entirely a fresh issue of shares.

For the first half of 2024, MobiKwik registered a net profit of Rs 9.4 crore and an operating revenue of Rs 381 crore, with expenses coming down to Rs 366 crore from Rs 617 crore in FY23. At the unlisted price of Rs 600, the market capitalisation comes out to approximately Rs 3,430 crore, according to Unlisted Arena.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.