‘Strong tailwinds make it the right time to list Yatra Online’
NEW DELHI : As online travel agency Yatra Online Ltd’s IPO will open for subscriptions this Friday, its co-founder and CEO, Dhruv Shringi, in an exclusive conversation with Mint, said there are strong tailwinds behind the business, and this is the right time to list. The company plans to use ₹150 crore from the IPO proceeds for strategic investments, acquisitions, and inorganic growth, while ₹392 crore could be used for investments in customer acquisition and retention, technology, and organic growth initiatives. The company’s IPO will be priced at ₹135-142 per share.
Mint earlier reported that this is a big reduction from the shares it issued to a promoter THCL Travel Holding Cyprus Ltd. last year. It had shares worth ₹62.01 crore by way of a rights issue in December 2022 at an issue price of ₹236 per share.
He said the current pricing is governed by market forces and investors while the earlier issuance to existing shareholders was based on the estimated fair market value. With IPO’s proceeds, Shri-ngi said it would consider acq-uiring offline businesses that may have a large customer base but no access to technology and this would help them drive up operating margins of the businesses they acquire. The company will invest in customer acquisition and go deeper into tier II and III markets.
It will look at building a service platform for corporate businesses it works for. “There is a big tier II and III story now in travel, especially given the context that there are more and more airlines offering additional routes because of which we are seeing a significant amount of growth from them. Travel is no longer a phenomenon that emanates from the top eight or ten cities anymore.
Read more on livemint.com
