Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has filed preliminary IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) through the confidential pre-filing process, which enables the company to keep some information under wraps until the public disclosure phase.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Noida-headquartered company confirmed that it had submitted the pre-draft red herring prospectus (pre-DRHP) to Sebi and the stock exchanges as part of its proposed initial public offering (IPO) plans on the mainboard of the stock exchanges. However, PhysicsWallah made it clear that the pre-filing is not a certainty that the company will go ahead with the IPO.
Established in 2020, PhysicsWallah has gained prominence for providing affordable and complete educational material on online, offline, and hybrid mediums, touching almost every nook and corner of India with presence in 98% of India's pin codes.
The firm raised $210 million in September, led by Hornbill Capital, valuing the startup at $2.8 billion—2.5 times its last valuation.
PhysicsWallah's decision to file confidentially for its IPO puts it in the company of a small number of firms that have done so. Food delivery firm Swiggy and retail chain Vishal Mega Mart filed confidentially last year before going on to list successfully. Earlier, online hotel booking aggregator OYO also chose a confidential filing route in 2023 but did not proceed with its IPO.
Tata Play, previously known as Tata Sky, was the first to use the confidential pre-filing option for an IPO in December 2022, later obtaining Sebi’s observation letter in April 2023, although it did not launch the public issue.
The pre-filing route provides companies with more flexibility. Experts point out that there is no requirement to go ahead with the IPO, and, in contrast to the conventional filing path where firms have to bring out their IPO within 12 months of Sebi's approval, the pre-filing provides for a period of 18 months for the IPO to be floated after Sebi's final comments.
Moreover, firms can change the size of their IPO by as much as 50% until the revised draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) stage.
Read also| Sensex Surges 1,131 Points, Nifty Ends Above 22,800 as Markets Soar
