AceVector, the holding company behind Snapdeal, closes its ₹420 crore IPO today, 29 September 2026, at the top of a ₹30 to ₹32 band. Allotment is on 30 September and listing on 5 October. This is the second attempt at a listing: the ₹1,250 crore filing of December 2021 was withdrawn the following year.
The IPO is a familiar name at a small number. Whether the number is small enough is the only question, and the RHP answers it.
What AceVector is
Three businesses sit under one holding company.
- Snapdeal, 57.5% of FY26 revenue. A value e-commerce marketplace aimed at tier-2 and smaller towns: 18,972 pin codes served, 26 million units delivered in FY26, 82% of them outside the metros, and 84% of items priced below ₹599. It is a marketplace, so it holds no inventory; its supply side is the sellers on the platform.
- Unicommerce eSolutions, 40.0% of revenue. E-commerce SaaS covering order management, warehousing, shipping and marketing automation. Acquired in 2015, listed separately in August 2024, when AceVector sold part of its stake for ₹134.93 crore.
- Stellaro Brands, 2.5% of revenue. The Rangita ethnic-wear label, sold online and offline.
The RHP puts the Indian value e-commerce market at about ₹2.1 lakh crore in FY26, growing 16 to 18% a year to FY31. It names Meesho and Amazon Bazaar as the competition.
The issue
| ₹ crore | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh issue | 287 | 68% |
| Offer for sale | 133 | 32% |
| Total | 420 |
Post-issue market capitalisation at ₹32 is about ₹1,741 crore on 54.4 crore shares.
Fresh proceeds go three ways: ₹132 crore on Snapdeal marketing, phased ₹40, ₹55 and ₹37 crore over FY27 to FY29; ₹50 crore on Snapdeal technology infrastructure, phased ₹10, ₹20 and ₹20 crore; and the balance, roughly ₹105 crore and capped at 35% of gross proceeds, for acquisitions with no target named plus general corporate purposes. A ₹13 crore pre-IPO placement has already been netted off.
None of it goes to debt, because there is almost none: consolidated borrowings are ₹0.45 crore against roughly ₹148 crore of cash. Interest coverage is not a question here.
Who is selling, and at what price
This is the part of the RHP that matters most. The offer for sale is 4.16 crore shares from 13 holders. The RHP's own weighted average cost of acquisition table, set against the ₹32 offer price:
| Seller | Avg cost per share | Outcome at ₹32 |
|---|---|---|
| Starfish I Pte (SoftBank), 2.76 cr shares, two-thirds of the OFS | ₹382.40 | 92% loss |
| FIH Business Global (Foxconn) | ₹762.60 | 96% loss |
| Nexus Ventures III | ₹406.25 | 92% loss |
| Nexus Opportunity Fund | ₹217.54 | 85% loss |
| Nexus India Direct Investments II | ₹31.03 | roughly flat |
| Rupen Investment, Centaurus Trading | ₹46.49 | 31% loss |
| Jason Kothari | ₹40.52 | 21% loss |
| Kenneth Glass, Laurent Amouyal (early individual holders) | ₹5.90, ₹7.30 | gains |
Every institutional investor who funded Snapdeal in its 2014 to 2016 rounds is taking the exit at 85 to 96% below cost. The founders, Kunal Bahl (12.19% pre-issue) and Rohit Bansal (10.93%), are not selling. SoftBank, at 30.11% pre-issue, sells part and keeps about 20%. Cumulative securities premium absorbed over the company's life is about ₹11,386 crore; the whole company is now offered at ₹1,741 crore.
The numbers
Restated consolidated, ₹ crore:
| FY24 | FY25 | FY26 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 379.8 | 395.0 | 510.4 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | (26.5) | (39.2) | (15.9) |
| Loss after tax | (51.3) | (126.3) | (45.5) |
| EPS (₹) | (1.26) | (3.04) | (1.32) |
| Operating cash flow | (54.8) | (27.3) | (1.8) |
Revenue grew 4% in FY25 and 29% in FY26, a two-year CAGR of 15.9%. The RHP's own estimate of industry growth is 16 to 18%. So the company grew slower than its market, in a year when it spent ₹84 crore on marketing and the marketplace segment still lost ₹50 crore at the EBITDA line.
Adjusted EBITDA is operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, with items the company treats as non-recurring or non-cash added back. Even on that flattering measure the operations lost money in all three years. Operating cash flow is negative in all three years too, though FY26 is close to cash breakeven; the three-year burn is ₹84 crore from operations and ₹99 crore after capex.
The FY25 loss after tax at ₹126 crore is three times the EBITDA loss of that year, which points to non-operating or exceptional charges below the line.
Three years of losses mean the company lists under SEBI's Regulation 6(2), the route for issuers that do not meet the profitability track record. The retail quota is therefore capped at 10% of the issue.
Balance sheet and the flags in the RHP
Net worth attributable to shareholders is about ₹102 crore. Goodwill and intangibles on the books are ₹233 crore (goodwill ₹196.5 crore, software ₹36.4 crore). Tangible net worth is therefore negative, about minus ₹131 crore. Total equity of ₹260 crore includes ₹135 crore of minority interests, mostly the outside shareholders of Unicommerce.
Also in the RHP:
- Direct-tax disallowances of ₹267.86 crore under appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), covering AY2018-19, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
- A Ministry of Corporate Affairs inquiry under Section 206(5), notice dated 13 May 2024, replies filed, proceedings pending.
- A ₹50 crore trademark suit in the Calcutta High Court, where an injunction on the products concerned is already in force.
- Two 2017 criminal FIRs, consumer-protection penalties on product standards, and a National Green Tribunal notice on single-use plastic.
- The company's own stated risk of "potential loss of control over its listed subsidiary, Unicommerce".
- 35% of the fresh money for acquisitions with no target identified.
The anchor book of ₹189 crore was 84% alternative investment funds (Negen, Singularity, Alchemy, Turnaround Opportunities). Helios and Taurus were the only mutual funds; no large asset manager or insurer took part.
Valuation
The RHP names three listed peers as of 17 September 2026: Nykaa (EPS ₹0.70, P/E 462.5x, return on net worth 13.9%), FirstCry (EPS minus ₹2.90, loss-making) and Meesho (EPS minus ₹3.11, return on net worth minus 31%). AceVector's return on net worth is minus 59.5%, worse than all three. The "industry P/E" the RHP quotes is a single data point, Nykaa.
With no earnings to value, the multiples that can be computed are on sales: ₹1,741 crore of market cap on ₹510 crore of FY26 revenue is 3.4x, and about 3.1x on enterprise value after net cash. On book it is 14.5x the stated net worth and not meaningful on tangible net worth.
The cleaner comparable for 40% of the revenue is Unicommerce itself, which is listed and can be bought directly.
Subscription and grey market
At 11 AM on the closing day: QIB 1.36x, non-institutional 1.55x, retail 2.03x, overall 1.54x. The grey market premium was ₹3, about 9%, when the issue opened on 25 September. It is 50 paise, 1.6%, today.
What foreign money has been doing in this sector
Worth a line of context, though it says nothing about this issue in particular. NSDL's fortnightly data for the Consumer Services bucket, where e-commerce sits alongside quick commerce, hotels and organised retail, shows foreign portfolio investors selling every fortnight from mid-March to mid-June 2026, about ₹14,300 crore in total, then buying ₹22,100 crore between late June and mid-September. Net over the six months: plus ₹7,832 crore, one of the few sectors with positive flows in a period when Financial Services lost ₹75,854 crore. The buying has faded to ₹422 crore in the first half of September, and the deal file shows foreign selling in Eternal in the same fortnight, so it is a Q2 return to the sector, not a thesis about tier-2 marketplaces.
Where it lands
Priced for the exit. The backers who know this business best are leaving at 85 to 96% losses, the net worth is goodwill, the marketplace has never made money, and the one asset with a visible value is already listed on its own. The numbers do not make a case for subscribing. The only argument for the stock is that ₹1,741 crore is a small number for the Snapdeal name, and that is a sentiment argument, not a financial one.
When the people who know the business best sell at a 92% loss, the buyer at ₹32 should be able to say exactly what they are paying for.
Sources: AceVector Limited RHP (offer structure, objects, selling shareholders and acquisition costs, basis for offer price, restated financials, risk factors); NSE/BSE subscription data via IPO trackers as of 29 September 2026; NSDL fortnightly FPI sector flows via Intrynsic.ai. Figures rounded to the nearest crore where stated in lakhs in the RHP.
For educational purposes only. Not investment advice. Intrynsic.ai is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser. Do your own research.