Prosus Plans to Add More IPOs to Its Portfolio in India

Dutch technology investor Prosus is still optimistic about the Indian market despite its unsuccessful bet on Byju's, which was once the most valuable company in the country. Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus and Naspers, stated that the company will keep investing in India and is enthusiastic about the future of the nation. In a letter to shareholders on October 21, 2024, Bloisi stated that Prosus, the biggest investor in Swiggy, which is set to go public, also anticipates more Indian businesses in its portfolio to do the same over the next 12 to 18 months.

Prosus, which is mostly owned by Naspers of South Africa, has invested in several Indian businesses, such as Meesho, Urban Company, and PharmEasy.

Swiggy’s IPO a Master Stroke for Prosus

"Swiggy declared its intention to go public. Our initial investment and effort in India is yielding positive results. In the upcoming 12 to 18 months, I anticipate seeing more of our investments in Indian initial public offerings," Bloisi stated. In addition to filing for an IPO of INR 10,000 crore, Swiggy obtained shareholder approval to possibly increase the amount of its entire issuance to around INR 11,700 crore. The IPO is the largest startup IPO since Paytm's INR 18,300 crore public offering in 2021, and it is anticipated to go live next month. After an absence of three years, a thriving Indian initial public offering (IPO) market has pushed a number of startups, including FirstCry and Ola Electric, to go public. Several other modern enterprises are also in queue for IPOs.

Prosus and Byju's Legal Battle

In addition to opposing Byju's rights issue, Prosus and a few other investors, such as Peak XV Partners and General Atlantic, have been involved in a legal dispute with the startup, bringing a suit against the management for harassment and mismanagement. Prosus wrote off its investment in Byju's earlier this year due to insufficient information about the company's liabilities, financial standing, and prospects. According to Bloisi, Prosus increased its e-commerce adjusted ebit by over $400 million in FY24 and is currently valued at $100 billion.

Prosus cut its Byju's valuation to $5.1 billion nearly a year ago, just after its representative quit from the board of Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd., the edtech startup's parent business. Additionally, representatives from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Peak XV Partners left Byju's board.

In November of that year, Prosus again reduced its Byju valuation to $3 billion. Given how widely education is being adopted digitally worldwide, Prosus is still very interested in the field of education. However, during the company's earnings call on June 24, a Prosus spokesperson stated that all three of the education firms in its portfolio—Stack Overflow, Skillsoft, and Byju's—had not met the organisation's goals. "Over the past year, our performance has been hindered by Byju's."

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StartupTalkyNitin Konde