October’s volatility has been factored in determining IPO valuation: Swiggy CFO

The volatility in India’s stock market in October has played a role in determining Swiggy’s valuation for the IPO, said the company’s CFO Rahul Bothra in an exclusive interview with YourStory.

“I think the market has been volatile. I think October was kind of a down month for the market. A lot of that feedback has been factored in the final pricing decision,” Bothra told YourStory. 

“We did not even have any capital action from our side since January 2022 when we last raised a primary round. When we did this particular exercise, where we sought to get to a fair valuation, I think we zeroed out on that (pricing). Everything's factored in, in the IPO pricing,” Bothra added.

Quick commerce and foodtech platform Swiggy is set to debut on Indian stock markets on November 13, initially aimed for a valuation of approximately $15 billion, as previously reported by YourStory.

However, its updated red herring prospectus (RHP) filed last week indicates that Swiggy will reach a valuation of around Rs 87,000 crore or about $11.3 billion at the upper price band. In the private market, Swiggy was valued at $10.7 billion.

In comparison, Swiggy’s primary competitor, Zomato, currently holds a market capitalisation exceeding $25 billion. While Zomato reported its first profitable year for FY24, Swiggy posted a loss of Rs 2,350 crore. As a result, Swiggy’s revenue multiple, a key metric for investors in loss-making startups, will also be significantly lower than Zomato's post-listing.

“I think there's a certain story that we're telling about ourselves, through both the reflection of the past numbers and also in terms of the strategy we have outlined in the offer documents. Now markets are going to react to how the operating numbers are either talking to our past trajectory as well as the strategy that we have outlined,” said Bothra.

“So, I think there's going to be a fair assessment of our numbers every quarter, and whether we are on track for the long-term objectives of each of these categories. And we are ready for that,” he added.

Founded over a decade ago, Swiggy—which has raised more than $3.5 billion in equity funding to date—will be raising Rs 4,499 crore through the fresh issue of shares, along with an offer for sale of as much as Rs 6,828 crore.

The IPO is priced in the range of Rs 371-Rs 390 per equity share and will open for subscriptions on November 6. The bidding date for the anchor investors is November 5.