Awfis Space Solutions Private Ltd, which is backed by marquee investors like ChrysCapital and Peak XV Partners ( formerly Sequoia India) has shortlisted 3 investment banks and kicked off the process to launch an initial public offering ( IPO) in 2024, the first such attempt on the domestic bourses by a co-working space provider, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.
"Awfis is planning to raise around $100 mn to $125mn via the proposed listing, though the quantum hasn't been finalized yet and may vary later. ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital & Axis Capital have been mandated as advisors," according to one of the persons above.
Chennai-based Awfis competes with the likes of WeWork, Smartworks and Tablespace. The segment has seen a sharp recovery post Covid-19 with a bulk of the demand coming from the IT sector.
A second person told Moneycontrol " Work on the IPO had begun earlier and the DRHP may be filed with market regulator Sebi in a month's time. A launch is targeted in 2024 based on market conditions. "
A third person shared, "The plan is for the IPO to be a combination of primary and secondary issuance of shares which will provide an exit window to the investors as well as help to mop up growth capital to expand presence to other locations. The novelty factor is high in this deal."
All three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
An email query mailed earlier to Awis on the firm's IPO preparation was left unanswered despite reminders.
ICICI Securities declined to comment. Moneycontrol could not elicit an immediate response from IIFL Capital and Axis Capital.
In a recent exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, Kunal Shroff, the Managing Partner of ChrysCapital, India's oldest and largest home-grown private equity firm said, " For us, our job is to just help our companies, whichever company feels they want to be public, to help them prepare for it. But I would imagine in the next two years, you should see more companies from the ChrysCapital portfolio go public."
Prateek Jhawar, MD and Head of Infrastructure & Real Assets, Avendus Capital says, "Post-pandemic, the trend of organizations in India adopting hybrid working models and shifting from traditional offices to coworking and managed offices for long-term commitments is what sets us apart from the global markets, where demand is dominated more by startups and individuals. "
"With more than 10 million square feet or 25% of all new office leasing happening in flex workspaces, we believe this is just the start of the bull run of the segment in India and at least 2-3 players would become IPO ready in the next 1-2 years as their business matures and starts generating stable cash flows," Jhawar adds.
The Awfis Story
According to reports, as of May 2023, Awfis had raised $90 mn from investors including ChrysCapital, Sequoia India, Innoven Capital and Link Investments.
It was founded in April 2015 by Amit Ramani and as per the firm's website, has evolved from being a coworking network to a tech-enabled workspace solutions platform that provides products across the spectrum of work requirements to cater to freelancers, startups, SMEs, large corporates and MNCs. The product range includes Flex Workspaces, Enterprise Workspace, Integrated Facility Management, Remote Working Solutions and others.
The firm is present in 150 centres across 17 cities and has 88,000 seats for a member base of 1,500 plus companies. It claims to be India's largest shared space network, according to the website.
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