Indian digital payments firm MobiKwik, backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Bajaj Finance, announced on Friday that it has set a price band of Rs 265 to Rs 279 per share for its initial public offering (IPO), aiming to raise up to Rs 572 crore ($67 million). This target is lower than its earlier plan to raise Rs 700 crore ($84 million).
The issue is set to open on December 11 and will close on December 13.
The announcement comes a month after MobiKwik co-founder and CFO Upasana Taku addressed concerns about market volatility in a conversation with DealStreetAsia. “Ideally, we’d like the market to stay stable and positive. Unfortunately, recent volatility impacts all companies preparing to go public, not just us. So, yes, I’m a little concerned,” Taku said.
Equity investors are hammered by a heady cocktail of bad news—lacklustre corporate earnings, high inflation, and foreign institutional investors pulling out funds from India amid the stimulus in China and the exuberance in the US markets following Donald Trump’s victory in the country’s presidential elections.
In January, MobiKwik filed for an IPO worth up to $84 million, nearly 63% less than its earlier target in 2021. The company, founded over a decade ago, had originally filed for a Rs 1,900 crore IPO in July 2021, with plans to go public that November. However, after the underwhelming market debut of its larger rival Paytm, those plans were shelved.
The current IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares amounting to Rs 572 crore, with no offer-for-sale component. Around 75% of the issue is allocated for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), 15% for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs), and the remaining 10% for retail investors.
Proceeds from the IPO will be directed toward enhancing data, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, product and technology development, capital expenditures for the payment devices business, and general corporate purposes.
