Ecom Express, Smartworks Get SEBI Nod For IPO

Logistics company Ecom Express and coworking space provider Smartworks have received SEBI’s approval for their initial public offerings (IPOs).

As per the details available on SEBI website, Ecom Express received the observation from the regulator on November 29. Smartworks was issued the observation on November 28. In SEBI’s parlance, issuance of observation is a go ahead for the public offering.

Ecom Express filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in August for INR 2,600 Cr IPO. This includes a fresh issue of equity shares up to INR 1,284.5 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) worth INR 1,315.5 Cr.

Smartworks also filed its draft IPO papers in the same month. The company’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 67.49 Lakh equity shares. The coworking company also plans to raise INR 110 Cr through a pre-IPO placement prior to filing its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).

Founded in 2012 by the late TA Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K Satyanarayana and Sanjeev Saxena, Ecom Express is a pure play B2C ecommerce logistics solutions provider. It generates revenue by servicing customers in the ecommerce industry, including horizontal, vertical, D2C, and quick commerce platforms in India. 

The company posted a net loss of INR 255.8 Cr on an operating revenue of INR 2,609 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

On the other hand, Smartworks, founded in 2016 by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani, is a shared workspace provider that offers customisable coworking solutions for enterprises. 

It claims to have over 8 Mn sq. ft. of office space across 40+ locations spanning 14 cities, including Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi NCR and Mumbai. It claims to cater to more than 600 enterprises, including Honeywell, Starbucks Coffee, DHL, and Moglix. 

It competes against the likes of Awfis, WeWork India and IndiQube. 

Smartworks narrowed its net loss to INR 49.8 Cr in FY24 while revenue from operations rose to INR 1,039.4 Cr, as per its DRHP.

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