Ixigo In "Wait And Watch Mode" For IPO Of Rs. 1,600 Billion

Online travel aggregator ixigo is still in "wait and watch mode" for its public market debut despite reporting an 184 percent year-over-year increase in revenue from operations for the financial year ended March 2022. ixigo received regulatory approval for its proposed Rs 1,600 crore IPO in December last year.

ixigo's Group CEO and co-founder Aloke Bajpai stated that the travel agency's IPO approval from markets regulator Sebi is good through December 2022. “We are currently working on the timing of the IPO, which depends on how conducive the (travel) market is in the next few months. We have been advised by our bankers to kind of wait for the right time and as and when we are adviseds to go ahead , that’s when we will proceed. So it will be difficult to guide on any timeline immediately,” said Bajpai.

The issue consists of a new issue of equity shares valued at Rs 750 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 850 crore, according to the company's DRHP. The OFS includes sales by Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar of up to Rs 50 crore apiece, Rs 550 crore by Saif Partners India IV, and Rs 200 crore by Micromax Informatics. Bajpai currently owns 9.18 percent of the company, Rajnish Kumar 8.79 percent, SAIF Partners 23.97 percent, and Micromax 7.61 percent.

ixigo reported Rs 451.51 crore in revenue from operations in FY22, an increase of 184% year over year from Rs 158.84 crore in the prior fiscal year. Despite reporting a profit of Rs 7.53 crore the year before, the company posted a net loss of Rs 21.09 crore in FY22. ixigo's Ebitda loss for FY22 was Rs 6.95 crore as opposed to the prior year's positive Ebitda of Rs 6.14 crore. Ixigo was established in 2007 by Bajpai with the goal of enabling travellers to plan, reserve, and manage their vacations through the application of advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. In terms of operational revenues in FY22, it was the second-largest OTA in India, behind MakeMyTrip.