MOBIKWIK HIRES ADVISERS TO SET BALL ROLLING ON PUBLIC LISTING

NEW DELHI: In line with its plans to go public in 2022, fintech firm MobiKwik has appointed investment banks ICICI Securities and IIFL, besides a few law firms, to kickstart the work on the draft red herring prospectus, two people in the know said, seeking anonymity.

MobiKwik is also in talks with a few more investment banks to bring them on board to manage the initial public offering (IPO), said one of the two people cited above. “They will go for a domestic IPO.” Several Indian startups in the fintech and consumer payments space, such as Paytm and PhonePe, are planning to go public. Valued at $16 billion, Paytm’s IPO is expected in 2022, while PhonePe, which is currently valued at $7 billion, may go public in 2023, according to news reports. Mint reported on February 16 that online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar is in the process of hiring investment banks to manage its proposed ₹4,000-crore IPO.

Several other consumer internet companies, such as Zomato, are also working on their IPOs.

“The IPO will help the company raise fresh funds to continue its growth trajectory, but also provide an exit for its earlier investors. A large part of the IPO is expected to be sale of shares by existing investors,” said the second person cited above.

MobiKwik, ICICI Securities and IIFL declined to comment on Mint’s queries. To prepare for its IPO, MobiKwik has been making changes to its top management. Senior vice president Chandan Joshi was named as a co-founder, though he was not part of the founding team of Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku.