Fertility clinic chain Indira IVF says withdraw IPO papers citing commercial considerations

Fertility clinic chain Indira IVF Hospital on Wednesday said it has withdrawn its draft IPO papers, which were filed through the confidential route, following the evaluation of various factors and commercial considerations.

The decision comes amid the company's temporary withdrawal of plans for a market debut, coinciding with the release of a Bollywood biopic on the company's founder, Ajay Murdia.

Reports indicate that Sebi had taken notice of the situation and raised concerns about Indira IVF's potential indirect self-promotion at a time when details of the IPO were not yet disclosed to the public.

The biopic, starring Anupam Kher and Esha Deol, was released on March 21. The release came just over a month after the company confidentially filed for an IPO.

The preliminary IPO papers were received by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on February 13, however, "draft offer document (was) withdrawn on March 19, 2025", according to an update made public by the regulator on Tuesday.

The confidential pre-filing route allows the company to withhold public disclosure of details under the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Further, pre-filing DRHP does not guarantee the company will go ahead with the initial public offering (IPO).

In a statement, Indira IVF Hospital's spokesperson said, "The company had decided to withdraw the pre-filed DRHP pursuant to evaluation of various factors and commercial considerations." "Reports that suggest any direction from Sebi in this regard are incorrect," the statement said.

Last week, PhysicsWallah joined the league of a handful of companies that took confidential filing routes for its IPO.

In 2024, food delivery giant Swiggy and supermart major Vishal Mega Mart successfully floated their respective initial share sales after making confidential filings.

Before this, online hotel aggregator OYO took the confidential filing route in 2023 but did not proceed with the initial share sale. Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, was the first company in India to use the confidential pre-filing of draft papers for an IPO in December 2022 and obtained the regulator's observation letter in April 2023. However, the company did not proceed with the public issue.

Under the pre-filing route, there is no pressure on the company to go for an IPO, experts said.

Moreover, unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval, or final observation, whereas in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments. This route also provides flexibility to change the primary issue size by 50 per cent till the Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) stage, they added.