Paytm, PolicyBazaar parent among 6 startups looking at global listing
- IBEF
- January 27, 2021
Among the many prominent startups that are in line to issue IPO’s this year, around half-a-dozen companies, including Paytm and EtechAces Marketing and Consulting, which houses both PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar are considering an international listing. While legal amendments for a global IPO have been undertaken, guidelines on where they can list as well as the tax regime are yet to be thrashed out and companies are expecting that it will be clearer in the Budget.
EtechAces Marketing and Consulting, last valued at around US$ 1.5 billion, recently saw a Dubai-based fund buying into the company through a secondary share sale. Last July, SoftBank had picked up an additional stake by investing US$ 130 million in a secondary share sale of the company.
Paytm too has started internal discussions on the matter, including a potential overseas listing. Paytm is the most valued Indian startup at US$ 16 billion since it closed a US$ 1 billion fund-raise in 2019. SoftBank’s Vision Fund is an investor in both Paytm and EtechAces. Policy-Bazaar co-founder and director Mr. Alok Bansal said the company is inclined towards a domestic IPO but it will take the final call, whether to list in India or abroad, based on final listing guidelines, by this financial year. Though the company has been carrying out small-sized secondary transactions, it is expected to go for sizeable pre-IPO fund-raise this year.
Over the next two years, multiple local startups are expected to launch their IPOs including Zomato, Delhivery, and Nykaa. This would pave the way for these firms to provide an exit to venture capital funds, who have invested in these startups over the years. The corporate affairs ministry has identified seven to eight international markets where Indian companies could list, including the US, the UK and Japan, apart from GIFT City in Gujarat.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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