Bumper debut for Zomato; m-cap races past Rs 1 lakh cr

Food delivery platform Zomato made a stellar debut on bourses on Friday, as its shares zoomed nearly 53 per cent against the issue price of Rs 76, and its market valuation has crossed the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark.

The stock made its debut at Rs 115, reflecting a huge gain of 51.31 per cent against the issue price on the BSE.

It then hit a high of Rs 138, a jump of 81.57 per cent.

At the NSE, it got listed at Rs 116, registering a premium of 52.63 per cent.

With the rally in the shares, the company's market valuation went past the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark on the BSE.

"Zomato, India's leading online food delivery company, listed strongly on the exchanges today with a 53 per cent premium. Such a stellar debut on the exchanges led to its market capitalisation crossing Rs 1 lakh crore.

"Despite the large size of IPO at Rs 9,375 crore and rich valuations, the company saw a healthy overall subscription of 38 times.

“There is a lot of fancy for such unique and first of its kind listing in the market. Zomato with first mover advantage is placed in a sweet spot as the online food delivery market is at the cusp of evolution," said Sneha Poddar, research analyst, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Zomato's initial public offering (IPO) last week ended with a bumper 38 times subscription.

The IPO of Zomato was India's biggest initial share sale offer since March 2020.

The IPO had opened for subscription on July 14, in a price band of Rs 72-76 per share. It closed on July 16.

The company, backed by Jack Ma's Ant Group Co, is the first from a long list of Indian unicorn startups to launch an IPO. It is also the first among Indian online food aggregators.

The Zomato IPO comprised a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 9,000 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) worth Rs 375 crore by existing investor Info Edge (India), which is the parent company of Naukri.com, according to the information provided in the draft red herring prospectus.

Zomato has said it will utilise the IPO proceeds for funding organic and inorganic growth initiatives and general corporate purposes.

Incorporated in 2008, Zomato is present in 525 cities in India, with 3,89,932 active restaurant listings along with a presence in 23 countries outside India.

Photograph: PTI Photo