Matrimony.com files papers to raise Rs 600-700 cr via IPO

BENGALURU: Match-making portal Matrimony.com has filed for an initial public offer on the BSE seeking to raise up to Rs 350 crore of capital and provide exit for venture capital investor BessemerVenture Partners, according to its draft red herring prospectus.

The overall size of the issue could even be over Rs 500 crore including the secondary component of the public offering, said one person familiar with the matter.

The filing dated August 18 comes after months of preparation by the firm — founded in 2001 by Murugavel Janakiraman — and at a time when investor interest in Indian internet companies is at an all-time high. The company has signed on Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank and Kotak Mahindra Capital as investment bankers to the issue.

ET had reported in February that Matrimony will file for an IPO and would seek a valuation of $450-500 million (Rs 2,700 crore to Rs 3,000 crore). Matrimony saw a 17.2% growth in its consolidated revenues to .`243 crore in the financial year ending March 2015, while its losses decreased to Rs 2.9 crore from Rs 9.1 crore the previous fiscal.

Matrimony competes with other portals such as Shaadi, Times Group’s SimplyMarry and Info Edge-owned Jeevansaathi.