Ahead Of IPO, TBO Tek Raises INR 696 Cr From 47 Anchor Investors

Ahead of its public issue, B2B travel portal Travel Boutique Online or TBO Tek has raised INR 696.5 Cr from 47 anchor investors. The startup, whose public issue will open on May 8, has allocated 45.7 Lakh shares to its anchor investors. 

“The IPO committee of the Board of Directors… has finalized allocation of 7,570,807 equity shares to anchor investors at the anchor investor allocation price of INR 920 per equity share (including share premium of ₹919 per Equity Share)…,” the travel portal said in a BSE filing. 

The anchor round saw participation from names such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Government Pension Fund of Norway, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Neuberger Berman, Tata Digital, Nippon Mutual Fund, Nomura, and SBI Mutual Fund, among others. 

Other anchor investors include Blackrock, Axis Mutual Fund, Fidelity, Franklin India, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Global Investments, Invesco, Mirae Asset, et al. 

Of the total, 31.55 Lakh (42%) shares worth INR 290 Cr were allocated to 14 domestic mutual funds through 26 schemes.

TBO Tek is looking to raise about INR 1,551 Cr via the public listing on the upper end of the spectrum. The B2B travel portal has set a price band of INR 875-INR 920 a piece for its public issue. The IPO will open on May 8 and conclude on May 10. 

Market watchdog SEBI greenlit the company’s IPO last month. The public offer comprises a fresh issuance of shares of up to INR 400 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component comprising 1.25 Cr equity shares.

As part of the OFS, promoters Gaurav Bhatnagar, Manish Dhingra and LAP Travel, along with investors TBO Korea and Augusta TBO, will offload a portion of their stakes.

Nearly 75% of the IPO is reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15% for non-institutional investors (NIIs) and 10% for retail investors. 

Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Jefferies India and JM Financial are the lead book-running managers for the IPO. 

As per its DRHP, the proceeds from the IPO will be utilised to fuel growth and strengthen the platform. An investment of INR 135 Cr will also go towards ramping up its tech stack. 

In addition, another INR 100 Cr will be deployed towards investment in its material subsidiary, Tek Travels DMCC, for onboarding platform users through marketing and promotional activities, and hiring. In addition, the fresh capital will be used for unidentified inorganic acquisitions and towards general corporate purposes.

Founded in 2006, TBO Tek provides travel solutions to travel agents and tour operators. It offers white-label solutions, hotel and flight booking APIs, and dynamic packages, among others.  

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