SoftBank: Delhivery’s market debut more than doubles SoftBank stake value to $1 billion

Bengaluru: Amid a global rout in tech stocks this year, Delhivery’s IPO has turned out to be one of the best debuts by a SoftBank-backed firm in India and and around the world. The stock was listed at a 1.6% premium to the issue price on BSE and surged as much as 17% at one point before closing the day at Rs 537.25, up 9%.

In 2019, SoftBank invested about $390 million in two tranches in Delhivery, which is now valued at almost $1 billion. The value of its investment has more than doubled in three years based on Delhivery’s stock price after its first day of trading. SoftBank holds close to 19% in Delhivery.

The Japanese investor also made a partial exit worth $50 million from Delhivery through the offer for sale (OFS) portion of the IPO.

Nexus Venture Partners, which has invested about $40 million in the company, has also made significant gains. It holds 7.92%, which is now valued at around $400 million. Carlyle has 5.08% in Delhivery after the listing, which translates to a valuation of around $250 million. Times Internet, which publishes ETtech, owns 3.91% in Delhivery after the listing, valued at around $200 million.

In contrast, SoftBank’s huge bet on turned sour following a disastrous listing in November. Its $1.4 billion investment in Paytm was worth around $800 million at the end of March 2022. SoftBank continues to hold around 17% in the Noida-based firm.

Its relatively small investment of $100 million in Policybazaar has seen a gain of around $300 million, according to a recent earnings report by SoftBank.

Delhivery’s market debut is significant for SoftBank when compared to those of its other portfolio firms this year as well. Indonesian ecommerce giant GoTo, in which SoftBank holds close to 9%, ended its first day of trading 13% higher after soaring 23% in intra-day trading. Chinese AI firm SenseTime listed in Hong Kong and ended the first day 7.3% up from the issue price.