Ixigo IPO: Travel aggregator refiles draft papers, slashes fresh issue size to Rs 120 cr

Ixigo files IPO papers with SEBI

Artificial intelligence-based travel company LE Travenues Technology, backed by SAIF Partners India IV, Peak XV and Micromax has refiled the draft papers with the SEBI for fundraising through an initial public offering.

The IPO is a mix of fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 120 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 6,66,77,674 equity shares by the existing shareholders, as per the preliminary papers filed on February 14.

SAIF Partners India IV and Peak XV Partners Investments V (formerly known as SCI Investments V) will be the biggest selling shareholders in the OFS of the professionally managed company with 1.94 crore equity shares and 1.3 crore shares, respectively.

Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar will be offloading 1.19 crore equity shares each in the OFS, while the remaining shares 1.03 crore shares will be sold by Micromax Informatics, Placid Holdings, Catalyst Trusteeship (erstwhile Milestone Trusteeship Services) as the trustee of Madison India Opportunities Trust Fund and Madison India Capital HC.

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Earlier, the Gurugram-based travel aggregator had filed a draft red herring prospectus with the regulator in August 2021 to raise Rs 1,600 crore via a maiden public issue. The IPO consisted of a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 750 crore and an OFS of Rs 850 crore worth of shares by the existing shareholders. The public issue had received approval from the regulator to launch an IPO in June 2023, but it did not launch.

The AI-based travel app Ixigo was launched in 2007 by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar and competes with the likes of listed peers EaseMyTrip and Yatra Online. The online travel agency (OTA) helps Indian travellers to plan, book and manage their trips across rail, air, buses and hotels.

Aloke Bajpai is the Chairman, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of the company and has been on the board since June 3, 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree in technology (electrical engineering) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a master’s degree in business administration from INSEAD.

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Rajnish Kumar is the Director and Group Co-Chief Executive Officer of the company and is a Non-Executive Director. He has been on the board since April 1, 2010. He holds a bachelor’s degree in technology (computer science and engineering) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

SAIF Partners is the largest shareholder in LE Travenues with a 23.40 percent stake followed by Peak XV with 15.68 percent shares and Gamnat with a 9.68 percent stake. Founders Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai, who are now public shareholders, hold 8.52 percent and Aloke Bajpai 8.15 percent shares in the company, while Micromax has 5.81 percent shareholding.

The company may consider fundraising up to Rs 24 crore in a pre-IPO placement, before the filing of the red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies.

Ixigo's parent company, Le Travenues Technology, will spend Rs 45 crore of the net fresh issue proceeds for working capital requirements, and Rs 25.8 crore for cloud infrastructure and technology. The remaining fresh issue amount will be deployed for inorganic growth through unidentified acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes.

The total Indian travel market as represented by modes of air, rail, road and hotel is estimated at around Rs 3.8 lakh crore in FY23 and expected to grow at a CAGR of around 9 percent to reach Rs 5.8 lakh crore by FY28.

The online travel agency has recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs 23.4 crore for the year ended March FY23, against a loss of Rs 21.09 crore in the previous year, while revenue from operations jumped to Rs 501.25 crore, from Rs 379.6 crore during the same period.

In the nine-month period ended December FY24, it clocked a net profit of Rs 65.7 crore, increasing significantly from Rs 18.66 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations for the same period stood at Rs 491.02 crore, up 35 percent from Rs 364.3 crore year-on-year.

Axis Capital, DAM Capital Advisors, and JM Financial are appointed as the merchant bankers for the issue.