Ixigo's IPO Opens Today. What Its CEOs Told Skift

10.06.2024 - 10:33 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia

Having raised INR 3.33 billion ($40 million) from anchor investors on Friday, Ixigo opened its initial public offering (IPO) on Monday.

The decision for the IPO launch follows a period of what its management calls “phenomenal growth” and strategic positioning of the company and the promising landscape of the travel industry, which they believe is entering a “golden era.”

Having first filed for an IPO in 2021, Ixigo received regulatory approval in December 2021. However, the company chose to delay its market entry in 2022 due to unfavorable conditions for tech stocks. “Most tech-listed names were trading below their IPO price in 2022, it was not the ideal environment for us to launch an IPO,” Aloke Bajpai, chairman, managing director and group CEO of Ixigo, told Skift.

The company instead focused on growth, transforming to what its CEOs call the “second-largest online travel agency in India by revenue.”

The decision to refile in mid-February 2024 came after two consecutive profitable years that boosted the company’s confidence. Investor enthusiasm during roadshows in March and April further reinforced this decision, culminating in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval in mid-May, said Bajpai.

This time, however, the online travel agency (OTA) is looking to raise less than half of the INR 16 billion ($192 million) it was looking to launch in August 2021. The current IPO size is INR 7.4 billion ($89 million).

Ixigo’s financial performance has been a key driver of its renewed IPO plans, said Rajnish Kumar, director and group co-CEO of Ixigo. “The company reported consistent profitability, with fiscal 2023 seeing nine months of profits and fiscal 2024 showing even stronger financial health. This allowed us to reduce the primary portion of fundraising. We didn’t need that much money,” Kumar told Skift.

The back-to-back IPOs of TBO Tek and Ixigo signify a robust resurgence in the travel industry, highlighting the market’s optimism and the sector’s readiness to capitalize on the post-pandemic recovery. The Indian travel tech landscape looks set for a dynamic phase of expansion and innovation.

The IPO will fund key areas including working capital requirements, the vision to create the best customer experience through technology and fund future acquisitions, said Bajpai. “We are seeing unparalleled growth in transactions, which increases our working capital requirements,” he noted. Also, INR 258 million ($3.1 million) is earmarked for technological investments to support the growing user base and enhance customer experience through artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure, he said.

Both Bajpai and Kumar feel that Ixigo’s strategic focus on technology and AI to solve customer