Travel portal Ixigo moves a step closer to IPO

• Ixigo’s parent Le Travenues is expected to file its preliminary papers for IPO by mid August.
• The company recently appointed six independent board members.
• It recently raised $53 million in a pre-IPO round from Singapore-based GIC.

Gurugram-based online ticketing startup Le Travenues Technology ⁠— which operates the travel portal ixigo ⁠— has converted itself to a public limited company, before launchings its initial public offering (IPO) this year.

The company ⁠— whose last reported valuation was $104 million, as per $4 ⁠— is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by mid August.

The conversion from a private limited company to a public limited company is the first step towards an IPO. A public limited structure allows companies to raise capital from the stock market. Indian laws do not allow a private company to invite the public to subscribe to its shares.

The development comes a day after the 14-year old online travel agency (OTA) appointed six independent board members, including former IRCTC chairperson and managing director Pratap Mall, former Nasscom foundation chairperson Arun Seth and GSF Accelerator founder Rajesh Sawhney.

Banking and insurance sector veteran Shubha Rao Mayya, Hopper founder Frederic Lalonde, and Hamstede Living MD and chief executive officer (CEO) Rahul Pandit will also be joining the board as independent directors, ixigo’s CEO and cofounder Aloke Bajpai announced on Twitter.

Ixigo raised $53 million in a pre-IPO round from Singapore-based GIC. White Oak, InfoEdge Ventures, Bay Capital, Orios Venture Partners, Trifecta Capital and Malabar Investment also participated in the round, according to regulatory filings.

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