Zomato makes stellar stock market debut; lists at 53% premium
Shares of food delivery giant Zomato Friday made a stellar debut on stock markets as the company created history by becoming the first Indian unicorn to go public. Its shares were listed at Rs. 115 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Rs. 116 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE)—a 51% and 53% premium, respectively, over the Rs. 76 issue price. Here's more.
With its much-awaited public listing, Zomato has also joined the elite club of the top 100 listed companies having a market capitalization of over Rs. 1 lakh crore in the country on Friday. Notably, the company has also reportedly entered the list of the top 50 most valuable companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Zomato's much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), which had opened for subscription from between July 14-16, had been advanced to July 23 from the planned date of July 27 following strong investor response. Interestingly, the opening bell ceremony of the company's public listing was a low-key affair as it was Zomato's delivery partners who rang the opening bell virtually owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably, Zomato's IPO was subscribed 44 times across all categories between July 14-16. The IPO was priced between Rs. 72-76 to obtain Rs. 9,375 crore—comprising a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs. 9,000 crore and Rs. 375 crore from Info Edge's secondary share sale.
Gurugram-headquartered Zomato—founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008—is an online food delivery platform connecting restaurants with consumers. During FY21, 3.21 crore monthly active users (MAUs) on average had visited Zomato's platform. It operates across 525 cities in India and has over 1,69,802 active delivery partners and 3.89 lakh active restaurant listings. Apart from India, it has a presence in 23 other countries.
Following Zomato's strong stock market debut, the company's founder and CEO Goyal tweeted, "A lot of people are calling this a 'historical moment'. It is not. History is always made in hindsight. Never in the present." In another tweet, he stated, "The future looks exciting. I don't know whether we will succeed or fail - we will surely, like always, give it our best."
A lot of people are calling this a ‘historical moment’. It is not. History is always made in hindsight. Never in the present. Back to work.
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) July 23, 2021
Several leading digital start-ups are reportedly gearing up to follow in Zomato's footsteps and go public. Companies like Paytm, Ola, Mobikwik, Policybazaar, and Nykaa have announced their plans of going public. In fact, Paytm, Mobikwik, and Policybazaar have already reportedly filed the papers for IPOs.
