Amazon-Backed More Retail Picks Banks For $300 Million India IPO

More Retail Pvt., the food and grocery chain jointly owned by Amazon.com Inc. and Samara Capital Partners, has picked advisers for an impending initial public offering that could raise about $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The Mumbai-based retailer has hired Avendus Capital Pvt. and ICICI Securities Ltd. to begin work on the potential listing, which could value the company at around $2.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The IPO could take place as soon as next year, they said.

The offering is expected to include both new shares and a secondary sale by existing investors, the people said. More Retail may appoint additional advisers, and discussions remain preliminary, meaning details such as size, timing and structure could still change, they said. 

Representatives for More Retail, Avendus, and ICICI Securities didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

India has emerged as one of the world’s busiest IPO markets, raising nearly $18 billion so far this year and closing in on last year’s record $21 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded in 2007, More Retail operates one of India’s largest supermarket and grocery chains, with 767 stores across 350 cities as of March, according to its website. The company aims to add 150 to 180 new stores by 2026. 

More Retail was acquired in 2019 by Witzig Advisory Services Pvt., a joint venture between Amazon and Samara Capital, from billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Aditya Birla Group.