Snapdeal plans $250 mn IPO in H1 2022: Sources

E-commerce platform Snapdeal is looking at filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in the next few weeks to launch an initial public offering in first half of next year, according to sources.

Sources close to the development said the company is looking at a $250 million (around Rs 1,870 crore) IPO that could value Snapdeal at about $1.5-1.7 billion.

Snapdeal is looking at filing the DRHP in December-January time frame, and launch the IPO in the first half of 2022 after the necessary approvals, they added.

One of the sources said the founders will not be selling shares as part of the IPO, and major shareholders are also expected to hold onto their shares.

When contacted, Snapdeal declined to comment.

Snapdeal's investors include names like SoftBank, BlackRock Inc, Temasek Holdings Pte and EBay Inc.

Notably, 2021 has seen a number of tech-led startups get listed on Indian stock exchanges.

Online commerce firms like food delivery platform Zomato and beauty and personal care retailer FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd (Nykaa) received stellar response to their IPOs.

However, Paytm -- one of the most awaited IPOs -- witnessed lacklustre listing and continues to trade below its offer price of Rs 2,150 a share.

Snapdeal is a leading value e-commerce company, and focuses exclusively on the value segment, with more than 90 per cent of the products sold on the platform priced below Rs 1,000 and more than 80 per cent of its users residing beyond the metro cities.

Once a leading player in the Indian e-commerce space, Snapdeal has seen its fortunes falling amid strong competition from rivals Amazon and Flipkart.

In 2017, Snapdeal walked away from a potential merger deal with Flipkart and instead pursued what it called the 'Snapdeal 2.0' strategy to become "financially self-sustainable".

Its consolidated revenue from operations grew marginally to Rs 846.4 crore in FY20 from Rs 839.4 crore in FY19.

Snapdeal has also been investing in video, vernacular and other strategic projects, aimed at growing the online market among new users, especially those coming in from tier II cities and beyond.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters