Indian e-commerce platform Snapdeal backed by Softbank Group Corp on Tuesday, December 22, filed draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO). The New Delhi-based company plans to sell new shares to raise Rs 1,250 crore through the IPO. Several top investors, including SoftBank and Sequoia Capital, also plan to sell some of their shares.

According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Snapdeal intends to sell up to Rs 250 crore of shares to financial institutions in a pre-IPO placement, and the company will use Rs 900 crore of the issue proceeds to finance organic growth initiatives and the rest for general corporate purposes. 

Snapdeal, at one point, rivalled Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart in the India market, but subsequently shifted focus on the non-urban, non-tech savvy bulk of India’s population. Snapdeal said it will use Rs 900 crore of the issue proceeds to finance organic growth initiatives and the rest for general corporate purposes.

The company was among the early startups in India to be deemed a unicorn and has raised nearly $2 billion in funding since its inception in 2007, according to VCCEdge. 

Snapdeal last raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Piramal Group executive director Anand Piramal in July 2019. In 2014, the company raised $627 million in a round of funding led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank at a valuation of $1.68 billion.

Softbank, which is the largest shareholder in Snapdeal, owns a 35.67% stake and through its affiliate, Starfish Pte Ltd, Softbank will sell as much as 24 million shares, while chipmaker Foxconn’s affiliate, Wonderful Stars Pte Ltd, will sell up to 2.97 million shares.

As per the DRHP, Canada’s Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan Board will sell up to 1.36 million shares while Myriad Opportunities Master Fund will sell 0.65 million shares, and Sequoia Capital will sell 0.41 million shares. Existing investors are expected to sell over 30 million shares in total through the offer for sale.