Mobile marketing company Affle (India) Ltd, the Indian unit of Microsoft-backed Affle Holding, has received SEBI approval for an initial stake sale.
The company intends to use the proceeds for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.
According to the draft papers, Affle India’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) comprises a fresh issue of up to ₹90 crore and an Offer for Sale of up to 55 lakh shares by Affle Holdings.
The company intends to set the issue price through the book-building process. Sources in the market told BusinessLine that Affle (India) is planning to raise close to ₹650 crore.
Affle India is part of Singapore-based Affle Holdings, in which Microsoft holds a 6.48 per cent stake.
It is also backed by other investors such as Ascent Capital, NGP Capital and Inventus Capital Partners.
Affle is a consumer intelligence driven mobile marketing platform, which is used by business-to-consumer firms. As of March 31, 2018, the company had about 1.18 billion consumer profiles and accumulated over 140 billion data points over the preceding 12 months.
For the fiscal, the company posted a net profit of ₹27.62 crore, while its revenue from operations stood at ₹167.24 crore.
ICICI Securities and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) are the book running lead managers to the Issue.
According to the DRHP, Malabar India Fund and Malabar Value Fund, collectively known as Malabar Investments, had acquired a 7.83 per cent stake for ₹136 crore in Affle India ahead of the IPO.
In September, Affle had acquired Bengaluru-based Vizury Interactive Solutions’ commerce business and brand in an undisclosed all-cash deal.
Founded in 2008, Vizury is a data-driven mobile marketing company with three business lines — push messaging, re-targeting and financial products. Its commerce business is spread out across India, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and the US, among other geographies.
In March, Affle (India) had acquired the ‘Markt’ platform to expand its online-to-offline (O2O) commerce business.
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