US IPO - MakeMyTrip to raise $70 mn


MakeMyTrip Ltd is selling the first US initial public offering (IPO) by an Indian com- pany in four years at a 26% pre- mium to the biggest online trav- el agencies.
MakeMyTrip, which has lost money for three years booking reservations in India and abroad, may raise $70 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Com- mission (SEC).

The IPO's midpoint price val- ues the Gurgaon, India-based company at 5.41 times next year's sales, higher than the average of 4.28 for US traded stocks from Expedia Inc. to Chi- na's ELong Inc., according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Independent International Investment Research Plc.

Indian companies are already raising record amounts from share sales in their home market even as offerings in America lan- guish below their 2007 levels.
While bulls say economic growth in India that's outpacing the US by almost three times will attract investors to MakeMyTrip, the unprofitable reservations provider may face increasing competition from domestic ri- vals, according to Renaissance Capital Llc.

MakeMyTrip, which is offer- ing five million shares at $12 to $14 each, is one of five compa- nies scheduled to price IPOs in the US this week, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

While shares of companies that completed IPOs in the US have lost 4.9% on average this year, offerings in India gained 20%, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Indian companies have raised `66,000 crore ($14.2 billion) from all share sales this year, putting the market on course to exceed 2007's record `78,200 crore, Bloomberg data show. US offerings have raised $76.1 bil- lion this year, on pace to total less than the $139 billion raised in 2007, when the Standard and Poor's 500 Index rose to a re- cord, the data show.

MakeMyTrip will be the first IPO by an India-based company in the US since WNS Holdings Ltd raised $255 million in July 2006, Bloomberg data show.
Genpact Ltd, a Hamilton, Ber- muda- based outsourcing com- pany spun off by General Electric Co. that operates in Indian cities from Bangalore to Gurgaon, sold $568 million of shares in an Au- gust 2007 US IPO, the data show.

MakeMyTrip reported net in- come of $1.3 million last quarter, reversing a loss from a year earli- er, after increasing sales by 49%, its SEC filing showed.

Some 48% of the $1 billion in online travel reservations made in India last year were booked through the company, while Yat- ra.com and Cleartrip.com ac- counted for a combined 42% of sales.BLOOMBERG Kristen Scholer in New York and Ruth David in Mumbai con- tributed to this story.