Goldman Sachs, stalwart among investors in PhysicsWallah’s anchor round of Rs 1,563 crore ahead of IPO

Edtech major PhysicsWallah has mobilized Rs 1,563 crore from 57 anchor investors ahead of its Rs 3,480 crore IPO, which opens for public subscription on Tuesday. The company allotted 14.33 crore shares at the top end of the price band of Rs 109 per share, according to data filed with the BSE.The strong anchor reaction comes a day before PhysicsWallah opens its three-day IPO to investors, with bids closing on Thursday, November 13. The offer includes a fresh issue of Rs 3,100 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 380 crore by existing shareholders.

Of the total anchor allocation, 14 domestic mutual funds were allotted 7.95 crore shares, accounting for 55.5% of the total anchor book, through 35 different schemes. Domestic institutional participants included ICICI Prudential MF, Kotak MF, Nippon MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, DSP MF, 360 ONE, Motilal Oswal MF, Tata MF, Bharti AXA MF, Edelweiss MF and Canara Robeco MF.The anchor book also attracted notable interest from global institutional investors, including Capital Research, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), Fidelity, Franklin Templeton Global, Eastspring Investments, PineBridge and White Oak Capital.

At the issue price of Rs 109 per share, the edtech company’s pre-IPO valuation is pegged at over Rs 31,500 crore, making it one of the largest listings in the Indian education technology sector.

The company’s hybrid learning model – which combines offline coaching centers with its large online user base of 13.7 million YouTube subscribers and 4.46 million paid users – has helped the company maintain profitability and expand its reach in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. In FY25, the company reported a 51% increase in revenue to Rs 3,039 crore and a sharp turnaround to a net profit of Rs 243 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 243 crore. The year before, global investment firm Think Investments had already invested Rs 136 crore in a pre-IPO round, buying shares at Rs 127 each earlier this year.

IPO details

The public issue, with a price band of Rs 103-Rs 109 per share, includes a discount of Rs 10 per share for eligible employees under the reserved quota. Investors can bid on a minimum of 137 shares and in multiples thereof.

Proceeds from the new issuance will be used for offline and hybrid center expansions, leasing and marketing costs, server and cloud infrastructure upgrades and potential strategic acquisitions.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, JP Morgan India, Goldman Sachs India Securities and Axis Capital are the lead managers of the issue, while MUFG Intime India is the registrar.