Ixigo’s bumper listing drives its pandemic acquisitions into Rs 100-crore club

Ixigo’s bumper listing drives its pandemic acquisitions into Rs 100-crore club

Travel aggregator Ixigo’s listing pop today was not just a significant outcome for the company’s founders, investors and employees.

As the company’s shares – which were priced at Rs 93 apiece in the initial public offer (IPO) – hit upper circuit at Rs 162 apiece on market debut, it became a milestone event for a few other significant stakeholders.

Firstly, two founders of Bengaluru-based online train ticketing platform Confirmtkt saw the value of their individual holdings in Ixigo cross the Rs 100-crore mark.

Sripad Vaidya and Kotha Dinesh Kumar had sold Confirmtkt to Ixigo in February 2021 when travel was just beginning to return after the devastating first wave of the pandemic. At present, each of them holds 7.98 million shares each in Ixigo.

Ixigo had also rescued a Hyderabad-based bus ticketing company called AbhiBus later that year by acquiring it in a slump sale. Its employees were absorbed by Ixigo, alongwith founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra.

Incidentally, the Ixigo shares that were issued to AbhiBus in the transaction also crossed the Rs 100-crore mark today.

The biggest winners, however, were the company’s early investors who had already booked gains on their bets in the Ixigo IPO.

SAIF Partners (formerly Elevation Capital) is sitting on a bumper return of 22 times on its investment of Rs 63 crore. The return includes its IPO sale of shares worth Rs 181 crore and remaining shares that are worth Rs 1,118 crore as per the current share price.

Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India) is sitting on a return of 13 times on its initial investment of Rs 67 crore. It sold shares worth Rs 121 crore and its remaining holdings are worth Rs 745 crore.

Similarly, Micromax is sitting on a return of 17 times on its initial investment of Rs 19 crore. It sold shares worth Rs 51 crore in the IPO.

Investors who did not sell in the IPO are also sitting on large values of shares on the company. We couldn’t ascertain their return multiples as their purchase prices are not available.

Gamnat, a fund managed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, holds 36.5 million shares in Ixigo that are currently worth Rs 592 crore. Various investment arms of the Singapore government have significant positions in multiple Indian new age companies like Zomato, Delhivery and Nazara.

Venture debt fund Trifecta also holds a significant position of 11.57 million shares in Ixigo that are currently worth Rs 187 crore.

The robust debut for travel aggregator was better that market expectations as trends in the grey market had earlier indicated a debut with around 30 percent listing gains for the stock.

The travel technology company's Rs 720 crore public offer also received stellar response from investors as it was subscribed 98.34 times. Non-Institutional  Investors (NIIs) led from the front and subscribed the portion set aside for them 110.5 times.

"With the travel sector set to grow due to increasing GDP, rising incomes, and improved infrastructure, Ixigo is well-positioned to benefit. Investors are advised to hold the shares for the medium to long term", said Parth Shah, Research Analyst at StoxBox.

Shivani Nyati, Head of Wealth, Swastika Investmart believes that Ixigo's AI-powered operations provide it with a competitive advantage. "The company caters to various travel needs, offering a strong foundation, and its impressive revenue and profit growth demonstrate a promising future. It's strong listing is a positive sign, showcasing investor belief in its long-term growth prospects within the online travel sector. The investors are advised to hold their position with a stop loss of Rs 111," Nyati added.