Shaadi.com Looking For A Take Two At IPO In Next 12 Months: Report

Matrimony platform Shaadi.com is looking at a second attempt in filing its initial public offer (IPO) after more than a decade of pause. Its first attempt to go public was made in 2009.

Anupam Mittal, the founder, told Mint in an interview, “We are profitable, and in about 12 months, we will be IPO-ready, and it’s a good place to be.” Mittal added that the company doesn’t require capital at the moment. The cofounder did not reveal more details about the IPO either.

The first IPO attempt of Shaadi.com planned to dilute around 15-20% of the total equity of the People Group, the parent company of Shaadi.com. 

“We plan to go for an Initial Public Offering in 2009 to dilute 15-20 per cent stake in the Group. This will, however, depend on the prevailing market condition at that time. It (the listing) is in its early stages of exploration. We are thinking on that line,” Mittal told PTI back in 2007.

Backed by the likes of Sequoia during the early stages, Shaadi.com was founded in 1996 by Mittal. Five years later, he established the People Group as an umbrella entity. Other brands under People Group include the real estate platform Makaan.com, mobile gaming company Mauj Mobile and Mobango.

It is prudent to mention that two of Shaadi.com’s competitors have already gone public. Jeevansathi.com, as part of Info Edge (India) Ltd in 2006 and Bharat Matrimony in 2017, as part of Matrimony.com Ltd.

It is also interesting that the three companies are among the first generation of consumer internet companies in India, a market opportunity set to reach $1.6 Tn by 2025 per an Inc42 report.

Shaadi.com has an uphill battle on its hand right now, as Matrimony.com leads the market with a 50-55% share. The Anupam Mittal-led company has around a 25-30% market share, per media reports. Further, several new and established dating platforms are also becoming a tough competition for these companies like Matrimony or Shaadi.

Mittal noted that Shaadi.com is preparing to launch new products, including Shaadi Live. The platform will allow matches to meet virtually face-to-face. “We have experimented for a year and will launch these new verticals in the coming weeks. We will bring people together and make conversations on Shaadi.com beyond chats and messages. These will be real-time capabilities being made available to the customers.”

Mittal added that the new verticals would make his app more sticky, with a wide range of use cases. He also said People Group turned profitable a couple of years ago but did not disclose details about revenue or profits.

Shaadi.com adds to a growing list of startups in India looking to go public over the next 12 months. While last year saw 11 startups going public, only Delhivery has had its IPO this year.