Shadowfax Quietly Gallops Toward IPO, Files Confidential Papers with SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has received the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) from logistics giant Shadowfax for an IPO via private pre-filing process.

This public announcement is being made in accordance with Regulation 59C(5) of the SEBI ICDR Regulations to notify the public that the company has filed the pre-filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI and the stock exchanges.

The entire filling has been done under Chapter IIA of the SEBI ICDR Regulations with regard to the proposed initial public offering of its equity shares on the main board of the stock exchanges.

According to media reports, Shadowfax is aiming for a listing for INR 2,000–2,500 Cr, with about 50% of that amount anticipated to be obtained through a new issue, even though the note did not specify the size of the IPO. This development comes three months after it became a public company.

Shadowfax Likely to Join Other Stalwarts in IPO’s Battleground

Shadowfax's move puts it in line with companies such as Aequs, Groww, Shiprocket, boAt, and PhysicsWallah (PW) that have used the confidential filing method to conceal IPO specifics until later in the process.

The IPO's principal bankers are Morgan Stanley, JM Financial, and ICICI Securities. Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal founded Shadowfax in 2015, providing last-mile delivery services to D2C brands and e-commerce platforms. Additionally, it offers value-added services including package exchange, expedited delivery, and reverse logistics.

Platforms such as Mamaearth, Nykaa, Flipkart, and Meesho are among its customers. According to a media report, Shadowfax was valued at $750 million (about INR 6,518.51 crore) when its co-founders invested INR 65.4 crore in the business earlier in March as part of a larger $50 million investment.

In addition to the cash, Shadowfax changed its board in February by adding Pirojshaw Sarkari, Ruchira Shukla, and Bijou Kurien as independent directors in accordance with the regulatory requirement.

IPO and Ongoing Market’s Sentiments

The announcement of Shadowfax's IPO coincides with a period of market correction and recovery thus far this year. Although the market correction kept the climate unfavourable for initial public offerings (IPOs) until April, the overall market has since shown an upward trend.

Despite uncertainty amid major geopolitical shifts (such as the US-induced tariff issue, the India-Pakistan conflict, and the Israel-Iran war), an EY report stated that the global IPO market grew 20% YoY by value, even though Ather and ArisInfra are the only new-age technology companies that have gone public this year thus far.

According to the research, India's initial public offering (IPO) industry is still exhibiting resilience, accounting for 22% of worldwide IPO activity in Q1 2025, with 62 IPOs raising a total of $2.8 billion during the quarter.

Consequently, over 20 cutting-edge tech firms are currently preparing to go public this year. These companies, which include, among others, PhysicsWallah, Zappfresh, BlueStone, boAt, CarDekho, Groww, Meesho, and Flipkart, are now certain in their intentions to submit IPO applications.