Upcoming IPO: Wealthtech unicorn Groww has taken the first formal step toward going public, filing confidential draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the regulator’s pre-filing mechanism.
Groww’s parent entity, Billionbrains Garage Ventures Limited, confirmed in a public notice on May 20 that the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) was submitted under Chapter IA of SEBI’s Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) Regulations. This route allows companies to seek feedback from SEBI without immediately making the IPO document public, as per a report by PTI.
This development follows a May 15 report by Moneycontrol, which revealed Groww’s plans to confidentially file for an IPO while also raising a $150 million investment from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. That funding is part of a larger $250–300 million pre-IPO round, valuing the company at approximately $7 billion.
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IPO Size and Market Position
Groww is expected to take a cautious approach with a valuation of $7–8 billion for its IPO in light of market volatility. A 10–15 per cent equity dilution at this valuation range would imply an IPO size of roughly $700–920 million, potentially one of the largest tech offerings from India this year, as per the PTI report.
Groww plans to list its shares, face value of Rs 2 each, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The company has not yet revealed the size of the fresh issue, offer-for-sale components, or the overall number of shares to be offered.
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The fintech player competes directly with Zerodha and Upstox in India’s online discount broking space and also distributes mutual funds and other financial instruments. Its investor base includes global heavyweights like Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, and Ribbit Capital.
Groww’s revenue more than doubled in FY24 to Rs 3,145 crore, up from Rs 1,435 crore the previous year. Operational profit rose 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs 535 crore from Rs 458 crore, the report added.
However, the firm reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 805 crore in FY24, largely due to a one-time domicile tax expense of Rs 1,340 crore. Groww shifted its domicile from Delaware, U.S., to Bengaluru during the last fiscal year, triggering the tax outflow, as per the report.
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In April, Groww’s active user count declined by approximately 75,000. Zerodha saw a drop of over 55,000 users. This marked the third consecutive month of decline in active investors across the top four brokerage firms, the PTI report added.
Zerodha has now seen active user losses for five straight months. Market watchers expect a 30–50 per cent drop in topline revenue for broking firms in the second half of FY25 due to regulatory pressures, as per Moneycontrol report.
