The ixigo IPO, India’s leading travel booking platform, is off to a strong start. On the second day of bidding, the Rs 740 crore public issue was subscribed 2.5 times.
Investors have bid for 11 crore shares against the offer size of 4.37 crore shares. The retail portion has seen huge demand, being subscribed 7.56 times. The non-institutional investor quota was subscribed 3.92 times.
The response from big institutional buyers has been more modest so far, with their portion subscribed 0.11 times. The price band is set at Rs 88 to Rs 93 per share. The IPO will close on June 12.
The IPO includes a fresh issue of 1.29 crore shares worth Rs 120 crore. There is also an offer for sale of 6.67 crore shares worth Rs 620 crore by existing shareholders.
The founders, Alok Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, are set to make massive gains from the issue. At Rs 93 per share, Bajpai’s 3.08 crore shares will be valued at Rs 286 crore, up from an average cost of just Rs 0.86 per share.
Kumar’s 3.22 crore shares, acquired at Rs 0.37 on average, will be worth Rs 299 crore post listing.
The funds raised will go towards expanding ixigo’s operations, cloud infrastructure, potential acquisitions and general purposes.
With travel bouncing back post-pandemic, investors seem excited about ixigo’s prospects in India’s fast-growing online travel market. The strong IPO response underscores their confidence in the company’s future growth.
