Snapdeal plans to file DRHP in first half of 2022

According to sources, Snapdeal is looking at filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus DRHP in the next few weeks to launch an initial public offering in the first half of next year. Sources close to the development said the company is looking at a $250 million round of Rs 1,870 crore IPO that could value Snapdeal at about 1.5 -- 1.7 billion.

They said that Snapdeal is looking at filing the DRHP in December-January time frame, and launching the IPO in the first half of 2022 after the necessary approvals. One of the sources said the founders will not be selling shares as part of the IPO, and major shareholders are expected to hold onto their shares. Snapdeal did not return a call when contacted.

Snapdeal's investors include SoftBank, BlackRock Inc, Temasek Holdings Pte and EBay Inc. In 2021, a number of tech-led startups have been listed on Indian stock exchanges. Online commerce firms like food delivery platform Zomato and beauty and personal care retailer FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd Nykaa received a stellar response to their IPOs.

Paytm, one of the most awaited IPOs, has a lacklustre listing and continues to trade below its offer price of Rs 2,150 a share. Snapdeal, once a leading player in the Indian e-commerce space, has seen its fortunes fall due to strong competition from Amazon and Flipkart. In FY 20 Snapdeal walked away from a potential merger deal with Flipkart and instead pursued what it called 'Snapdeal 2.0' strategy to become 'financially self-sustainable. Its consolidated revenue from operations grew marginally to Rs 846.4 crore in FY 20 from Rs 839.4 crore in FY19.

Snapdeal has invested in video, vernacular and other strategic projects in order to grow the online market, especially those coming in from tier II cities and beyond.