New Delhi, Nov. 6 -- Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah on Thursday fixed a price band of Rs 103-109 per share for its upcoming IPO, aiming for a valuation of over Rs 31,500 crore at the upper end.
The company's Rs 3,480-crore maiden public offering will open on November 11 and conclude on November 13 and anchor investors will be allocated shares on November 10, according to its public announcement.
The upcoming IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 3,100 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares aggregating up to Rs 380 crore by promoters. Promoters Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob will each offload shares worth Rs 190 crore through the OFS. At present, both hold 40.31 per cent stake each in the company.
The Noida-based company filed draft papers in March with Sebi for an IPO through a confidential pre-filing route and had received the market regulator's approval in July. Following this, the company filed an updated DRHP in September before filing an RHP.
The company opted for the confidential pre-filing route, which allowed it to withhold public disclosure of IPO details until later stages. Funds will be based to fuel the company's expansion and growth initiatives.
Of the fresh issue proceeds, PhysicsWallah said Rs 460.5 crore will go towards fit-outs of new offline and hybrid centers and Rs 548.3 crore will be used for lease payments of existing centers. Also, the company will invest Rs 47.2 crore in its subsidiary Xylem Learning, including Rs 31.6 crore for new centers and Rs 15.5 crore for lease payments and hostels.
A further Rs 33.7 crore will be directed to Utkarsh Classes & Edutech for lease payments of its centers. Additionally, Rs 200.1 crore is earmarked for server and cloud infrastructure, Rs 710 crore for marketing initiatives, and Rs 26.5 crore for acquiring additional stake in Utkarsh Classes.
PhysicsWallah offers test preparation courses for competitive exams focusing on JEE, NEET, GATE and UPSC along with upskilling programs, delivered through online platforms (YouTube, website, and apps), tech-enabled offline centers, and hybrid centers that combine online teaching with in-person support.
According to the company, 75 per cent of the issue size has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15 per cent for non-institutional investors and the remaining 10 per cent for retail investors.
PhysicsWallah will make its stock market debut on November 18.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.