PhysicsWallah IPO: Popular edtech company PhysicsWallah has also joined the IPO race. The company has also secretly submitted an application to the stock market regulator SEBI to bring an initial public offering (IPO) of about Rs 4,600 crore. Several sources familiar with the matter have given this information to Moneycontrol. PhysicsWallah is one of the few edtech startups in the country that have achieved unicorn status. Unicorn means that the valuation of this startup has crossed $1 billion.
Physicwala has investments from several big investment firms such as Westbridge Capital, GSV Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Hornbill Capital. If this listing is successful, Physicwala could become the first edtech startup to be listed on the Indian stock market.
"After the company got the board's approval, draft documents have been submitted to SEBI. Companies in many sectors are now increasingly using this confidential pre-filing route for IPO applications," a source said.
IPO will be a mix of fresh issue and OFS
Another source said that PhysicsWallah's IPO will include a part of Offer for Sale (OFS) along with the issuance of new shares. That is, along with the issuance of new shares, some existing investors will also sell their stake. Through this IPO, PhysicsWallah plans to achieve a value of more than its previous valuation of $ 2.8 billion.
Important information related to IPO
Physicwala has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Bank, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs as book-running lead managers for this IPO. In September 2024, the company raised $210 million (₹1,750 crore) led by Hornbill Capital. Existing investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Westbridge Capital and GSV Ventures participated in this round.
What is the benefit of secret pre-filing?
PhysicsWallah is launching the IPO under the confidential pre-filing process. This is an option introduced by SEBI for main board issuers in November 2022. Under this, companies can hide their sensitive business details and financial risks from competitors. If market conditions are not favorable, they can withdraw the IPO plan without sharing the information publicly.
Whereas in the traditional process the draft paper becomes public in advance, whereas in pre-filing it is kept confidential.
Before Physicwala, companies like Tata Play, Oyo, Swiggy, Vishal Mega Mart, Credila Financial Services and Indira IVF have also submitted applications for IPO in this manner. Physicwala has become the seventh big company to do so.
Let us tell you that PhysicsWallah was founded by Alakh Pandey and Pratik Maheshwari. According to the company's claim, it has more than 55 lakh paid students. It has 4.6 crore YouTube subscribers. PhysicsWallah has 14,000+ employees. More than 2 lakh students are studying in its offline coaching centers in 105 cities of India.
