India’s Snapdeal to postpone $152 million IPO

09.12.2022

SoftBank-backed Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal has decided to postpone a $152 million IPO, the company told Reuters, the latest casualty of a tech stock crash that has soured investor sentiment.

Snapdeal filed for an initial public offering (IPO) for approval in December 2021, a year in which many Indian startups debuted on the stock market and raised record amounts of money. But many are postponing IPOs amid a downturn in the stock market that has raised concerns about inflated valuations of tech companies.

Snapdeal, which competes with larger rivals Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart in India’s booming e-commerce space, filed a request this week with the country’s market regulator SEBI to withdraw its IPO prospectus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

In a statement to Reuters, Snapdeal said it decided to withdraw the IPO prospectus “in light of prevailing market conditions,” without elaborating. It adds that Snapdeal may reconsider an IPO in the future depending on capital needs and market conditions.

Snapdeal’s change of plans comes as shares of India’s tech companies that have gone public in recent years face investor anger.

The first source added that Snapdeal has not decided on a new timeline for when it might file for an IPO.

Snapdeal wanted to fund its organic growth initiatives with proceeds from its IPO, which was to include a fresh Rs. 12.5 billion ($152 million) share issue and a 30.8 million share offering.

SoftBank, Sequoia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board investors offered to sell some of their stakes in the IPO.