An online education platform, Veranda Learning Solutions Ltd, has filed preliminary paperwork with the capital market regulator, SEBI, to raise Rs 200 crore through an Initial Public Offering, IPO.
According to the Draught Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), the principal issue of the stock is the IPO. The corporation may contemplate privately owning shares worth Rs. 50 crore.
An initial public offering is a public offering in which a company’s shares are offered to institutional and, in most cases, individual investors. IPOs are also known as stock launches. One or more investment banks normally underwrite an IPO, and they also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges.
Get to know Veranda
Veranda is a complete online education platform that covers all aspects of education. Involved in offering integrated learning solutions in online, offline hybrid, and offline mix forms for students, applicants, graduate professionals, and corporate workers.
Veranda’s mission is to provide students, professionals, and corporate employees with various integrated learning opportunities. The organization provides comprehensive long and short-term preparatory courses transparently for students preparing for UPSC exams, State Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Banking, Insurance, Railways, and Chartered Accountancy.
The company’s four companies are Veranda Race Learning Solutions, Veranda XL Learning Solutions, Veranda IAS Learning Solutions, and Brain4ce Education Solutions.
Recent Activity of Veranda
Veranda said in September that it had paid Rs 245 crore for Eduraca, an online solutions company managed by an IT direct instructor. Veranda believes that purchasing Edureka has increased its position in the software education sector as well as in international markets, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Veranda had previously bought the Chennai Race Coaching Institute, which provided preparation for banking, SSC, and BSc examinations.
Systematics Corporate Services Limited manages the book operation of the publishing. The BSE and NSE will both list the company’s equity shares.
What Does The Future Hold?
New issuance of shares is planned for the projected IPO. Before the filing of the Red Herring Prospectus, the business may explore a pre-IPO placement of equity shares worth up to INR 50 crore for cash consideration, according to the DRHP.
The promoter group from Chennai controls 97.71% of the firm, with Kalpathi S. Suresh (Chairman), Kalpathi S. Aghoram (Vice-Chairman), and Kalpathi S. Ganesh each owning 32%. Suresh serves as the company’s Executive Director, while Aghoram and Ganesh serve as Non-Executive Directors.
The online learning platform intends to use INR 60 crore to pay off or prepay a portion of its debt. As of October 31, it owed INR 160.78 crore in debt.
The company has previously stated that it intends to spend roughly $100 million on acquisitions over the next six months to capitalize on possibilities in the EdTech market.
More And More Indian Firms Are Going Public With IPOs
Since last year, several firms have gone public to obtain capital. According to data, firms raised $4.6 billion through initial public offerings last year. According to investment bankers, this figure will be easily surpassed in 2021 as more firms go public.
Since the end of 2020, several firms have chosen to go public, owing to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on business and brisk stock market activity. According to analysts, firms are going public as a result of strong stock market performance and increased participation of first-time investors, particularly high-net-worth individuals.
The primary motivation for most digital and online delivery start-ups to go public is to generate finance and expand their businesses as demand develops fast. Analysts predict that over 50 digital technology businesses will be listed on stock exchanges in the next few years.
