Anupam Mittal-led multi-brand consumer Internet company People Group, which also owns brands like Fropper.com, Makaan.com, and Astrolife.com, is planning to launch a second IPO.
Individual Group, which runs the online matchmaking platform Shaadi.com, plans to go public over the next fiscal, founder and chief executive Anupam Mittal said. “We are profitable, and in about 12 months, we will be IPO-ready, and it’s a good place to be. However, we don’t require capital at the moment,”
However The first IPO attempt of Shaadi.com scheduled to dilute around 15-20% of the total equity of the People Group, the parent company of Shaadi.com.
While Shaadi.com was founded in 1996 by Mittal, he founded the People Group in 2001. Mittal owns a notable stake in the company, along with a minority stake held by venture capital firm Saama Capital. Besides Shaadi.com, the group also runs the real estate website Makaan.com and mobile gaming firm Mauj Mobile.
To handle on dating platforms, Shaadi.com is planning to launch newer products. The company will launch Shaadi Live as one of the verticals within the Shaadi platform. It will allow matches to meet face-to-face virtually and interact on a platform created by Shaadi.com’s in-house team. This will help relatives abroad to attend the wedding virtually.
“We have experimented for a year and will launch these new verticals in the coming weeks. We will bring people together and make conversations on Shaadi.com beyond chats and messages. These will be real-time capabilities being made available to the customers,” Mittal said, adding that this will boost the app’s use-case dramatically, making it more attached to the users. Shaadi.com is based in Mumbai with offices working in Delhi, Chennai, Indore, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Dubai, London and New York.
Mittal said “People Group turned profitable a couple of years ago, but declined to disclose details about revenue or profits. The numbers were also unavailable on the MCA website”.
Mittal, an angel investor, has become widespread as a judge and investor in the reality television show Shark Tank India. Currently shooting for the second season of Shark Tank India, Mittal has funded over ₹5 crore in companies introduced during the first season.
