MakeMyTrip Files for India Largest Travel-Tech IPO at B+ Valuation
MakeMyTrip just submitted the largest confidential IPO filing in Indian travel history. The Nasdaq-listed travel giant filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI, the BSE, and the NSE for its Indian subsidiary MakeMyTrip India Ltd., aiming to raise over billion in what would be the biggest travel-sector listing the country has ever seen.
The Gurugram-headquartered company disclosed the filing in a regulatory submission with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming that its wholly owned subsidiary had taken the confidential route to market. Investment banks Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are advising on the deal, according to reports from MoneyControl and Skift.
This is not MakeMyTrip testing the waters. This is the company pulling the trigger on a homecoming IPO it has telegraphed for months, and the implications ripple across Indian capital markets, the online travel ecosystem, and every founder watching how dual-structure listings work in practice.
The Structure of a Dual-Listed Entity
India does not allow dual listings. That means MakeMyTrip must run two separate publicly traded entities for the foreseeable future. The existing Mauritius-based holding company will continue trading on Nasdaq under the ticker MMYT, while MakeMyTrip India Ltd. will list on Indian exchanges as a distinct corporate entity.
After the IPO, MakeMyTrip India will remain a subsidiary of the parent company. Its financial results will continue to be consolidated into the parent's filings, which simplifies investor reporting but creates complexity around valuation. Analysts will need to track two stock prices for what is effectively one operating business, a structure that has historically created arbitrage opportunities and valuation confusion in other cross-border listings.
The company restructured its domestic operations to enable this move. It folded redBus India, its bus-ticketing subsidiary, into MakeMyTrip India, consolidating all domestic travel assets under the entity that will list. This restructuring signals that the company views the India listing as the primary vehicle for its domestic growth story going forward.
The long-term plan is to unify into a single structure, but that requires regulatory changes or a complex corporate inversion that could take years. In the meantime, MakeMyTrip will manage two sets of public shareholders, two disclosure regimes, and two market expectations.
Why Now: The Numbers Behind the Move
MakeMyTrip's timing is no accident. The company crossed 0 billion in annual gross bookings in its most recent fiscal year, driven by double-digit margin growth in its bus-ticketing segment and a post-pandemic travel surge that shows no signs of slowing. Its Nasdaq market capitalization sits at approximately .4 billion, a figure that many analysts believe undervalues the company relative to its Indian peers.
The numbers are staggering. MakeMyTrip has served more than 87 million lifetime transacted retail customers and over 77,000 small, medium, and large corporate clients. Its app has been downloaded more than 549 million times. The company has sold over 32.5 million hotel room nights through its hotels and packages business and over 104.6 million bus tickets. Those figures place it in a league of its own among Indian travel platforms.
India's travel and tourism market has staged a powerful recovery after the pandemic. Domestic travel is booming, premium leisure demand is surging, business travel has returned, and online booking penetration continues to grow as smartphone adoption reaches deeper into smaller cities. MakeMyTrip is positioned to capture that wave directly.
The confidential filing route is significant. It allows MakeMyTrip to keep financial details, valuation targets, and share sale proportions private until the regulatory process advances. Oyo-parent Prism used the same approach for its upcoming listing, which targets a to billion valuation. The confidential route has become the preferred path for large Indian tech listings that want flexibility in timing their public debut.
What the IPO Proceeds Will Fund
The proceeds from the sale of shares in MakeMyTrip India will go to the selling shareholders: MakeMyTrip itself and its wholly owned subsidiary ibibo Group Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd. According to the company's disclosure, the funds will strengthen MakeMyTrip's cash position and be deployed for three specific purposes: long-term growth initiatives, strategic inorganic opportunities, and repurchases of different classes of securities including convertible securities.
The mention of inorganic initiatives is worth watching. India's online travel market is fragmented beyond the top players. MakeMyTrip competes with Oyo, EaseMyTrip, Ixigo, and a long tail of regional booking platforms. A well-capitalized MakeMyTrip India could go on an acquisition spree, picking up niche players in hotel booking, bus ticketing, and corporate travel management.
The share repurchase authorization is equally telling. It signals that MakeMyTrip management believes its shares are undervalued, and it gives the company a tool to manage the capital structure across its two listed entities. Founders should watch this closely: a dual-structure company with a buyback program in one entity creates interesting dynamics for how value flows between the two stocks.
What This Means for Indian Tech Founders
MakeMyTrip's IPO is a bellwether for the broader trend of Indian tech companies returning to domestic markets. For years, Indian startups raced to list in the United States, seeking higher valuations, deeper liquidity, and prestige. But the regulatory environment is shifting. India's capital markets regulator has made it easier for tech companies to list domestically, and the investor base for Indian tech stocks has matured significantly.
A successful MakeMyTrip India listing would validate the dual-structure approach for other Indian tech companies listed abroad. It would demonstrate that a company can maintain its Nasdaq presence while tapping into Indian retail and institutional demand. That template could be followed by companies like Zomato's international peers, logistics platforms, and fintech firms that currently have U.S.-listed parent entities with significant Indian operations.
The IPO also signals that India's capital markets have reached a tipping point. The depth of domestic institutional capital, the growth of retail participation through platforms like Zerodha and Groww, and the government's push for local listings have created a viable alternative to the U.S. public markets. For founders building in India, the path to liquidity no longer requires a New York listing. The home market is ready.
The details of the IPO timing, size, and valuation band will emerge as the regulatory process moves forward. But the direction is clear: MakeMyTrip is coming home, and it is bringing the biggest travel-tech listing India has ever seen with it.
