INDIA – Food delivery platform Swiggy has unveiled plans to launch INR 120 billion (US$1.4 billion) IPO in early November.

According to IFR, Swiggy’s upcoming IPO will include 37.5 billion primary shares and 186 million secondary shares, based on sources familiar with the matter.

Reuters reported that Swiggy is seeking a valuation between US$12.5 billion and US$13.5 billion, slightly below the earlier forecast of US$15 billion projected by analysts, citing those directly aware of the deal.

Investors including Accel India IV (Mauritius), Apoletto Asia, Alpha Wave Ventures, Coatue PE Asia XI, DST EuroAsia V, Elevation Capital V, Inspired Elite Investments, MIH India Food Holdings, Norwest Venture Partners VI, and Tencent Cloud Europe are among the vendors involved in the IPO, according to IFR.

Avendus, Bank of America, Citigroup, ICICI Securities, Kotak, Jefferies, and JP Morgan will act as lead managers for the listing.

Swiggy’s competitor, Zomato, recently secured board approval for a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise up to $1 billion, intended to strengthen its competitive stance.

The food delivery industry in the MENA region is also eyeing IPOs to increase capital, with Delivery Hero planning to list its Emirati subsidiary, Talabat, on the Dubai stock exchange later this year.

In september, Swiggy announced a US$271 million employee stock option (ESOP) allocation for its founders and top management, according to its pre-listing prospectus.

CEO and co-founder Sriharsha Majety will receive ESOPs valued at US$200 million, with a vesting period of one to eight years.

The value of these options could vary based on the company’s stock performance post-listing. Majety holds a 6.23% stake on a fully diluted basis, with the ESOP potentially increasing his stake by an additional 2.2-2.5%.

He also announced plans to sell US$7.5 million worth of shares through the IPO’s offer for sale (OFS) component.

Other co-founders, Phani Kishan Addepalli and Nandan Reddy, who hold leadership roles as Chief Growth Officer and head of innovation, respectively, will also receive stock options under this ESOP scheme.

They will also be awarded to Chief Financial Officer Rahul  Bothra, Chief Technology Officer Madhusudhan Rao, food marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor, and Amitesh Jha, newly appointed CEO of Swiggy Instamart.

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