Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah moves closer to IPO after SEBI approval

Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has taken a significant step toward going public, with market regulator SEBI completing its review and giving the green light for the company to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO).

The Noida-based firm opted for the confidential pre-filing route—an alternative to the traditional IPO process—where companies submit the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) privately to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) before making it public.

The confidential filing was submitted in March this year, and SEBI issued its observations on July 18, according to SEBI’s website. The company will now file a public version of the DRHP ahead of the IPO.

This date is significant because it typically marks the start of an 18-month window, under the pre-filing route, during which the company must launch its IPO, unlike the 12-month window in the regular route. If the IPO isn’t launched within this period, the process must be restarted.

The Alakh Pandey-led company is reportedly planning a Rs 4,600 crore IPO, largely comprising an offer for sale (OFS).

In an IPO, an OFS is when existing shareholders sell their shares, and the proceeds go to them. A Fresh Issue is when the company issues new shares to raise funds for its business.

YourStory has reached out to PhysicsWallah for comments.

In March, the IPO-bound company appointed three independent directors—Deepak Amitabh, Rachna Dikshit, and Nitin Savara—to its board. SEBI regulations require companies filing a DRHP to appoint independent directors based on the chairman’s role: at least one-third of the board if the chairman is non-executive, or half if the chairman is executive.

As part of its IPO preparations, PW has made several key hires, with the most recent being Satish Sharma as its new chief marketing officer. Ajinkya Jain was appointed as group general counsel, company secretary, and compliance officer in January. Late last year, it brought former Blinkit CFO Amit Sachdeva as chief financial officer following the announcement of its FY23-24 financial results.

PW had been the only profitable edtech unicorn until FY22 while steadily growing its top line.

Earlier this year, YourStory reported that PW is poised to become India’s most valuable edtech firm with an about $25 million secondary funding round led by existing backer WestBridge Capital, pushing its valuation to $3.7 billion. 

The company’s post-money valuation was at $2.8 billion following the $210 million Series B funding round last year.