SoftBank-backed OfBusiness plans $1 billion IPO in India, valuation of up to $9 billion eyed: Report

OfBusiness, an Indian shopping website backed by SoftBank, is planning an initial public offering in the Indian stock market of up to $1 billion and is about to appoint bankers, according to a report by Reuters.

OfBusiness is currently in talks with Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley for the offer and is planning to get listed in the stock market in the second half of 2025, the report said citing Bhavesh Keswani, Chief Financial Officer.

The initial public offering will be around $750 million to $1 billion, out of which new shares will account for $200 million and the rest will be given by existing shareholders to new investors, he added.

"The IPO proceeds will be used for debt repayment and growing existing business," the report said, quoting Keswani.

The four banks did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The company looks for a valuation of around $6 billion to $9 billion, the report said citing a senior industry source. Keswani, however, did not comment on the valuation, as per the report.

US-based Tiger Global and Japan-based SoftBank Group have around 15% stake in OfBusiness. Alpha Wave Global, an international investment firm has 18% stake. Another SoftBank-backed company, Ola Electric also got listed in the stock market this year.

OfBusiness was founded by Asish Mohapatra and Ruchi Kalra in 2015. It has raised more than $800 million so far, and its last 2021 funding round valued it at around $5 billion.

OfBusiness is an online business-to-business platform that offers polymer products, agricultural goods, such as pulses, and industrial steel.

In FY24, the company reported a $72.6 million net profit and revenue of $2.3 billion. OfBusiness is in the process of merging some of its subsidiaries to streamline the business ahead of the IPO, the report said quoting Keswani.

The company’s IPO plans come at a time when the stock market is doing well, with the benchmark index up 16% this year, the best among the other Asian countries, the report said.