Companies Seeking To Flip Back To India Due To Better IPO Prospects: Sanjeev Bikhchandani

With more and more companies joining the reverse flipping parade, Info Edge cofounder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said that the companies want to move their domicile to India due to better initial public offering (IPO) prospects in the country compared to other nations.

During a discussion with Inc42 cofounder and CEO Vaibhav Vardhan at Money X, Bikhchandani shared that the IPO standard is higher overseas in terms of revenue, profitability and other metrics. 

According to him, companies in India target for public listing in 10-12 years since launch. “While Mamaearth went for IPO in just 6-7 years, companies like MakeMyTrip took close to 10 years,” said Bikhchandani.

It is pertinent to note that after a lull in IPOs in 2022 and 2023 due to geopolitical tensions, a raging funding winter and macroeconomic pressures, startups in India are lining up in droves to list on the bourses this year..

The latest ones mulling to go for IPO are Swiggy, Mobikwik, Physics Wallah, Ather Energy, among others.

Notably, Bikhchandani’s InfoEdge was one of the early investors in Swiggy’s rival Zomato and still holds around 13% of Zomato’s total shares, the company which went public in 2021.

Currently, over 90% of startup investors are expecting a funding revival in H2 2024.

Unlike H1 2023, when funding raised by Indian startups cratered 72% year-on-year (YoY), the decline in numbers was a mere 2% YoY in the first six months of the ongoing calendar year.

Also, two startups turned unicorn in H1 2024 (Rapido became the third unicorn of the year in July) whereas the same number of startups (Zepto and InCred) entered the coveted club in the entire 2023. Additionally, the total funding raised by the Indian startup ecosystem since 2014 touched the $150 Bn mark during the first six-month period of 2024.

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