Flipkart $5bn US listing |
Bulge bracket investment bankers are on frequent flights to Bangalore as Indian e-commerce juggernaut Flipkart prepares to raise at least $5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) on the US bourses in the next 18 months. Wall Street biggies Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, along with European giant Deutsche Bank, are in discussions to lead what would be the largest public offer by any Indian business till date. The hugely anticipated listing could value the eight-year-old company at over $30 billion. Coal India`s $3.4-billion maiden offering in 2010 is the largest listing by an Indian company at present. Flipkart has not officially signed on any banker for the listing process but has stepped up work on the same. The investment banks have started holding regular briefings with the company`s co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in Bangalore and its largest investor Tiger Global. Based on current estimates, Flipkart`s offer size could be between $4 billion and $7 billion, while the company`s valuation might fall in the $25-35 billion bracket. But the general consensus is veering towards at least a $5-billion offering, given that the company would raise more capital ahead of the IPO. Flipkart listing story is significant for the global investment banks that have hardly made money on Indian companies of late. The Bansals moved the holding company, majority-owned by foreign investors, to Singapore in the recent past and plan to take the same for Flipkart`s listing.
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