MobiKwik Moving Forward with Indian IPO

Indian digital wallet and payments startup MobiKwik now has the blessing of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering. The company plans to raise up to Rs 1,900 crore ($252,000) through the effort, according to a Business Standard report Friday (Oct. 8).

MobiKwik filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the IPO with Sebi in July.

About Rs 1,500 crore ($200,000) of the money raised will translate into a new round of shares in the company, while about Rs 400 crore ($53,000) in stocks will take the Offer-for-Sale (OFS) route through existing MobiKwik shareholders.

Among the companies that will be selling shares in MobiKwik through the IPO are American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc, Bajaj Finance, Cisco Systems (USA) Pte Ltd, Sequoia Capital India Investment Holdings III, Sequoia Capital India Investments IV, Tree Line Asia Master Fund (Singapore) Pte Ltd, along with company promoters Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh.

The money raised through the share issuance with be used for organic growth as well as acquisitions and “general corporate purpose,” according to MobiKwik officials. The company has set aside 4.5 million equity shares for employees through an employee stock ownership program.

“This 7% compares to less than 2% holding for most other internet companies that are coming up for listing,” said MobiKwik Chairperson, Co-Founder and COO Upasana Taku, in the announcement.

“Over the last decade, MobiKwik has grown on the strength of its employees to become a leading FinTech player in India,” she said. “As we cement our presence and leadership further, we wanted to acknowledge and reward our employees for their efforts.”

Related: India’s Central Bank Demands MobiKwik Examine Alleged Data Leak

MobiKwik was forced to undergo an external audit this spring after allegations that a hacker stole data from its 110 million users. The central bank can issue a minimum $6,811 fine if a breach is found.