India's Unicorn IPO Streak Continues, Paytm's IPO to Be India's Biggest-Ever

One97 Communications, Paytm's parent entity, has received approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to issue its IPO.

A nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) means the company can now go ahead and launch its IPO. Thus, the company is now preparing to launch the $2.2 billion worth of initial public offering (IPO), the largest in India’s capital market history.

The largest IPO, so far, was from Coal India, which raised Rs 15,000 crore over a decade ago.

The firm was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2000. Paytm has said it plans to use Rs 4,300 crore of the fresh issue to expand its existing business lines and acquire new merchants and customers.

The company is expecting a valuation of $20-$22 billion. In the last fundraise, it was valued at $16 billion.

The primary market in India has witnessed a host of unicorn listings in 2021. Zomato, Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company was listed on the BSE and National Stock Exchange in July. Nykaa will launch its IPO later this month while IPOs of PolicyBazaar, MobiKwik, Pine Labs and Delhivery are in the pipeline.

India's secondary market is also going through a productive spell at recent times. The BSE SENSEX gained more than 140% in the last 18 months. Meanwhile, the NIFTY 50 also gained more than 145% in the same period. As of writing, the total market capitalization of all companies listed in BSE is US$3.52 trillion.