Post-IPO, Smartworks’ valuation may cross Rs 6k crore

KOLKATA: City-based Smartworks Coworking Spaces Limited may have a valuation of over Rs 6,000 crore following its maiden IPO later this year. The company filed its draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Sebi last week.Smartworks, promoted by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani, is one of the country’s largest leasing co-working platforms with 8-8.5 million square feet space. Awfis, a competitor of Smartworks, has a valuation of over Rs 5,000 crore, but it manages less space.Smartworks’s IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 550 crore and an offer for sale up to 67 lakh equity shares. The stake of promoters in the company, now around 69.2%, is likely to come down by 6-7% after the IPO. However, the overall promoters’ stake would be more than 60%.Sources close to the development said as far as selling shareholders were concerned, Keppelof Singapore would sell 50 lakh shares while the promoters would sell 17 lakh shares.Smartworks proposes to utilize the net proceeds for repayment/ prepayment/ redemption, in full or in part, of certain borrowings, estimated at Rs 140 crore. An amount of Rs 282 crore would be kept for capital expenditure, to be used for fit-outs in the new centres and for security deposits. The company had posted a revenue of Rs 1,113 crore in the last fiscal.