IndiaMART Reveals Funding Target For IPO

India-based B2B eCommerce platform IndiaMART is going public and has just revealed how much it hopes to raise through its initial public offering (IPO).

Reports in Inc42 on Thursday (July 5) said IndiaMART plans to raise $88.24 million, which it disclosed in draft papers to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The filing is its first step toward a float, reports noted. The company plans to offer 4.28 million shares.

The publication noted that reports first surfaced last month of IndiaMART’s IPO plans. In an official statement this week, the company said backers Intel Capital, Amadeus IV DPF and Accion Frontier Inclusion Mauritius will be selling shares in the IPO. The company’s promoters will be doing the same. According to IndiaMART’s filings, the promoters collectively own 53 percent of the company. Intel Capital is the company’s largest institutional shareholder, with 13.47 percent of the firm.

IndiaMART did not offer a date for its IPO.

Last year, IndiaMART introduced new services for the companies that buy and sell on its platform, providing small business sellers with tools to mitigate the risk of nonpayment and developing a buyer and seller protection program. At the time, the company said it struck a partnership with ICICI Bank, which provides escrow services for small businesses on the platform to further mitigate risk for both sides of the transaction.

The company itself is an investor in other members of the B2B eCommerce space, having provided angel funding for ProcMart, an online procurement platform, in 2016. The companies did not disclose exact details of the investment at the time.

With India’s B2B eCommerce market growing, B2B payments players have also taken steps to strengthen their position in the market. Visa, for example, announced last January a collaboration with PayMate to enhance B2B payments capabilities in India.