Indian companies junk private deals, take the IPO route for higher valuations

livemint.com:

Mint. For instance, investors in companies such as Lighthouse Learnings and Piramal Glass have discarded their stake sale plans due to valuation mismatches in the private markets, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. KKR-backed Lighthouse Learnings (formerly EuroKids) earlier this year appointed investment banks JP Morgan and Avendus to look for a buyer for its 94% stake in the education company it acquired in 2019.

However, the firm is now exploring either an IPO or listing the company as an REIT (real estate investment trust), one of the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity. As for Piramal Glass, majority owner Blackstone is mulling a potential listing after calling off a stake sale process that ran for more than five months starting last November, the second person cited above said. KKR declined to comment, while a Blackstone spokesperson denied any exit plans for Piramal Glass.

Then, after exploring a complete sale, Everstone, the majority owner of healthcare services provider Everlife, has decided to take the initial public offering (IPO) route for the company, according to news reports. Packaging company Manjushree Technopack is the other example of M&A being junked in favour of IPO, as reported by Mint earlier. Other companies, too, have moved into IPO mode from private fundraising.

For example, Aadhaar Housing Finance, which briefly explored a majority stake sale, turned to an IPO given the positive market sentiment. The company listed earlier this year and the stock has performed well since. Then, Sai Life Sciences, which explored a sale and then filed documents with Sebi for an IPO in July, is awaiting a nod from the market regulator.