InMobi IPO: SoftBank-backed Indian ad tech firm appoints JPMorgan, Jefferies for its upcoming IPO worth $1 billion

Upcoming IPO: The Indian mobile advertising company InMobi has hired four banks for its initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to hit the primary market in a few months. The four hired banks include JPMorgan Chase, Jefferies Financial Group, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Axis Capital. The SoftBank-backed Indian ad tech firm aims to raise $1 billion from its initial offering. The net proceeds of the upcoming IPO are expected to support the Indian mobile advertising company’s growth, operational expansion, and strategic initiatives in Advertising and Media, helping strengthen its market presence and future business opportunities.

According to Bloomberg, the InMobi IPO is due to start later this week, people familiar with the matter said. The SoftBank Group Corp.-backed firm is likely to seek a valuation of $5 billion to $6 billion in a share offering, Bloomberg News had reported last year, placing it in the mid-range among publicly traded Indian ad tech firms.

Spokespeople for InMobi, JPMorgan and Jefferies declined to comment, while Kotak and Axis didn’t respond to requests for comment.

InMobi is currently in the process of re-domiciling from Singapore to India in preparation for its public listing. The Bengaluru-headquartered company's plans are not final and could change.

Upcoming IPO details

Public listings such as InMobi’s would be a boon for an Indian IPO market that has waned this year, with geopolitical turmoil derailing or delaying stock sales. About $5 billion has been raised through Indian IPOs this year, well behind the pace of the previous two record-setting years, when proceeds topped $20 billion each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Still, there are high-profile names, including National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., Zepto Ltd., Jio Platforms Ltd., and Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd., in the pipeline.

About InMobi company

Founded in 2007, InMobi was one of India’s earliest global consumer-tech bets and briefly positioned as a challenger to Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. in mobile advertising. SoftBank invested in the company in 2011, creating India’s first unicorn. The company has since diversified into marketing, content and commerce technologies, and has been working to bolster profitability after years of slower growth.

SoftBank recently sold a large portion of its stake in InMobi back to the company for about $250 million. It still holds a small stake in the firm. Harvard-educated founder Naveen Tewari is InMobi’s chief executive officer and the largest shareholder, with about 40% stake.

(With major inputs from Bloomberg)

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