Online Travel Aggregator ixigo’s IPO To Open On June 10

The initial public offering (IPO) of online travel aggregator (OTA) ixigo’s parent Le Travenues Technology will open next week on June 10 (Monday) and close on June 12 (Wednesday). 

As per the platform’s red herring prospectus (RHP), the anchor investor bidding will take place on Friday (June 7).

The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 120 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 6.67 Cr shares (6,66,77,674 to be precise). 

As part of the OFS, cofounders Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai will sell 1.19 Cr shares each. Investors SAIF Partners India and Peak XV Partners will offload 1.94 Cr and 1.3 Cr shares, respectively. 

Other investors, including Micromax Informatics, Placid Holdings and Madison India, will also sell a portion of their stakes.

Ixigo is yet to disclose the price band for the public offering. About 75% of the IPO is reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while 15% has been earmarked for non-institutional investors (NIIs). The remaining 10% of the public issue has been set aside for retail investors. 

ixigo received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) nod for its IPO last month. 

As per the RHP, the proceeds from the IPO will be utilised to fuel inorganic growth via acquisitions and other strategic initiatives as well as for general corporate purposes. In addition, INR 45 Cr will be used to fund working capital requirements while INR 28.5 Cr will be used for investments in technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and customer engagement.

The OTA has already received ‘in-principle’ approvals from the BSE and the NSE for the listing of its equity shares.

Founded in 2007 by Bajpai and Kumar, ixigo started as a travel search website to help users compare flight deals. In FY20, it became an OTA, earning revenue from selling various travel services like flights, trains, bus tickets, hotel bookings, and holiday packages.

The startup’s unique selling proposition (USP) is its focus on railway ticketing and targeting the Tier II and smaller markets. This is expected to be the major strength for ixigo’s IPO. 

The OTA’s public issue has been in the works for nearly two years. Previously in 2021, the startup first filed its DRHP for an INR 1,600 Cr public offering but postponed the plans amid the funding winter and a market downturn.

The company clocked a consolidated net profit of INR 68 Cr in the first nine months of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), up 3X from INR 23.3 Cr in the entire FY23. Operating revenue jumped to INR 491 Cr in the first nine months of FY24 from INR 501.2 Cr in FY23. 

With its listing, ixigo will join the growing list of Indian startups to go public this year. Go Digit Insurance, TBO Tek, Awfis, and TAC Security are among the new-age tech companies to list on the bourses in 2024.

Additionally, giants such as Swiggy and Ola Electric are also lining up plans for their public listings this year.