One97 taps IPO market in new, bigger avatar 11 years after aborted attempt

Vijay Shekhar Sharma-founded firm had to shelve Rs 120-cr IPO last minute in December 2010

Vijay Shekar Sharma’s One97 Communications almost went public in 2010. It had even announced the issue date but shelved the listing plans last minute citing volatile market conditions.

That year saw 64 initial public offerings (IPOs) worth nearly Rs 38,000 crore. One97’s IPO would have added to the number tally but would have hardly made a difference to the amount raised column as its issue size was just Rs 120 crore. The same year, India saw its biggest IPO still date—Rs 15,200 issue by state-owned Coal India.

Fast forward 11 years, One97 Communication—the company that owns digital payments pioneer Paytm—is