Swiggy files draft IPO papers via SEBI’s confidential filing route

Sriharsha Majety. co-founder and Group CEO of Swiggy

Food tech giant Swiggy has filed confidential papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO), people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol.

As the name suggests, when a company makes a confidential filing, details about the business will not be released to the public, unlike the normal route when the entire draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) is publicly available as soon as it is filed with the market regulator. It was first introduced in November 2022. In a regular filing, the approval is valid for 12 months after SEBI gives it final observations. In confidential filing, this is valid for 18 months from the date of SEBI observations on the confidential draft prospectus.

The development comes a day after Swiggy’s shareholders approved its $1.25-billion IPO.

The Bengaluru-based company plans to raise up to Rs 3,750 crore (around $450 million) through a fresh issue and up to Rs 6,664 crore (around $800 million) as an offer-for-sale (OFS) component, as reported by Moneycontrol earlier.

Moneycontrol was first to report that Swiggy was preparing for its mega $1-billion IPO in March 2022. The company also plans to raise around Rs 750 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO which is slated for earlier this year, past regulatory filings had showed.

Swiggy however did not offer comments to Moneycontrol. “We do not comment on any market speculation or rumours. We will update you on any development as and when it is ready to be shared in the public domain."

Swiggy is now the second large new-age company that has filed its draft IPO papers via the confidential route. SoftBank-backed Oyo was the first major startup to do so last year.

Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky) was the first company to try this route soon after it was introduced. 

In the run up to the IPO, Swiggy recorded a $207 million loss for the nine months to December 2023. That loss was on a revenue of $1.02 billion during the same period, compared with fiscal year 2022-23 revenue of $1.05 billion, as reported earlier.

In the previous financial year, Swiggy saw its revenue rise 45 percent to Rs 8,625 crore in FY23, while its net loss widened to Rs 4,179 crore, according to the company's annual filings. In the previous financial year, the hyperlocal commerce unicorn had registered a revenue of Rs 5,705 crore and a net loss of Rs 3,629 crore.

For comparison, arch-rival Zomato's revenue had risen 66 percent to Rs 7,761 crore in FY23, while net loss narrowed to Rs 971 crore. Zomato has however been profitable for the past three quarters and even saw its valuation cross $20 billion on April 26.

Swiggy was last valued at $10.7 billion when it raised $700 million in January 2022. 

The company's co-founder and Group CEO, Sriharsha Majety told Moneycontrol in January that IPO preparation have been underway and he was spending more time with the founders of listed companies to operate like a publicly listed company.