Technology investor Prosus in a post-earnings call on Monday, declined to reveal whether it plans to sell a part of its 32.6% stake in food tech unicorn Swiggy’s $1.2-billion initial public offering (IPO).
“Swiggy is an important part of our portfolio and we are a big believer in Swiggy. We can’t comment on if we are going to sell in the IPO or not. We really like the business and we hope we can help the business’ performance,” a senior executive of Prosus said.
Prosus’ large shareholding in the food tech firm means that it is likely to be tagged as a promoter and would be put under several restrictions with regards to how and when it sells its shares once the company gets listed on the exchanges.
Under the minimum promoter contribution norms of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), promoters of IPO-bound companies have to contribute 20% of their post-offer shareholding to a mandatory three year lock-in, or an 18 month lock-in, in certain cases.
Swiggy filed confidential papers with Sebi for an IPO in April. The 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.
“Swiggy’s revenue on a local reporting basis grew 24% in local currency, excluding M&A. In its tenth year of operations, Swiggy’s gross order value grew 26% YoY, and its ever-transacted user base reached the milestone of 104 million at the end of December 2023,” Prosus said in its annual report.
“Operating leverage improved as the business added revenue streams like restaurant advertising and introduced nominal platform fees which supported improved operational profitability,” Prosus said.
