International calling solutions firm Matrix files for IPO; CX Partners to part-exit
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International calling solutions firm Matrix files for IPO; CX Partners to part-exit

By Bhawna Gupta

  • 23 Jun 2015
International calling solutions firm Matrix files for IPO; CX Partners to part-exit

Matrix Cellular International Services Pvt Ltd, which offers international SIM and data solutions for those travelling abroad, has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with securities market regulator SEBI to float its initial public offer (IPO).

The proposed public issue entirely comprises an offer for sale by its existing PE investor CX Partners besides its promoters.

For CX Partners, this is the first portfolio firm from which it is looking to exit via a public float. Since January this year, the PE firm has part exited three companies including surgical products maker Sutures India, APIs exporter Natco Pharma Ltd and IT consulting firm KPIT Technologies Ltd.

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It is also planning to raise $400 million for its second sector agnostic fund.

Matrix Cellular joins the queue of over a dozen of companies which filed documents for maiden public issues since January this year.

Here's a snapshot of the IPO

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* Offer for sale comprising 15.17 million shares of which CX Partners is looking to offload 12.6 million shares and the rest is being put for sale by the promoters.

* Bankers: IIFL Holdings and Religare Capital Markets.

Use of proceeds

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* The company will not receive any proceeds from the offer for sale issue.

Company

* Founded in 1995, New Delhi-based Matrix Cellular is a SIM card provider offering voice, data and SMS services under the brand 'Matrix' to Indian travellers going overseas. Its services seeks to allow travellers to save up on high international roaming charges on home carriers while retaining their numbers. The firm is promoted by the Dugal family and is led by Gagan Deep Singh Dugal. It also offers foreign exchange services and facilitate access to overseas travel insurance.

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* In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the nine months ended December 31, 2014, its customers, including resellers, consumed an aggregate of 70.96 million, 81.05 million, 68.81 million and 58.77 million voice minutes; an aggregate of 11.00 million MB, 25.63 million MB, 41.24 million MB and 124.57 million MB of data services; and SMS services aggregating to 5.33 million, 5.36 million, 4.72 million and 3.27 million SMSs, respectively.

* As of December 31, 2014, Matrix Cellular offered post-paid services in 32 countries and pre-paid services in eight countries and a Europe bundle which covers 26 destination countries.

* The company has 1,024 employees in India across its corporate office, branch offices located in 13 cities in India and five airport counters as of December 31, 2014.

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Financials

* For the nine months ended December 31, 2014, it had total revenues of Rs 217.3 crore with net profit of Rs 14.7 crore. For the financial year ended March 31, 2014, the company posted total revenues of Rs 246.6 crore with net loss of Rs 2.4 crore.

Investor

CX Partners had invested around Rs 167 crore in the company in early 2011, through a mix of primary share subscription and secondary purchase of stake. Around two-thirds of this went to the Dugal family and another Rs 50 crore went to ad-for-equity media investor Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL). Matrix Cellular received around Rs 17 crore through fresh issue of shares in the deal which valued it around Rs 440 crore or around $100 million back then.

It is selling over four-fifths of its holding in the proposed IPO.

Earlier it had got ad-for-equity investor BCCL as a shareholder. BCCL had part-exited by selling convertible debentures to the promoters and later sold its remaining holding to CX Partners.

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