India’s biggest online matchmaker BharatMatrimony has revived its IPO plans and is most likely to be listed in the second quarter of the current fiscal.
The recently-launched matrimony photography business is expected to boost revenue, according to a senior official of the company
The Chennai-based firm was to have been listed on the Indian bourses last December but the initial public offering was postponed due to certain unforeseen circumstances according to the company’s founder and CEO Murugavel Janakiraman.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Mr. Janakiraman said, “We had to postpone it due to the demonetisation exercise. We wanted to postpone the decision till the confusion in the market settled. We have applied for it afresh and will be going for an IPO in the second quarter of this fiscal.”
The company is yet to decide on the quantum of funds to be raised and the areas in which investments are to be made, the founder said.
Speaking about the company’s latest venture, Mr. Murugavel said matrimony photography is a $3-billion opportunity in India. Given the potential, the segment is expected to boost the company’ revenues significantly, according to him.
The company is in the process of roping in photographers possessing 5D and above models. In a similar model to that of Uber cabs, MatrimonyPhotography will be paying ₹25,000 to each partnering photographer for seven-day service in a month. “The photographers can do their other assignments in the rest of the days in the month.
“Right now, the model is working very well. Even if we capture less than 5% of the business, the future is very bright,” Mr. Janakiraman said.
