Bukalapak Reportedly to Go Public in August 2021, Targeting up to 11 Trillion Rupiah Funding

The news of Bukalapak's IPO is getting widely reported. Recently, a Reuters source said the company aims for an ambitious target of fundraising up to $800 million or equivalent to over 11 trillion Rupiah through the sale of 10 to 15% of the total shares; bringing the company's valuation to $4 to $5 billion. The corporate action is said to take place in August 2021.

The source also mentioned that the estimated value obtained from the capital market is in accordance with the prospectus Bukalapak submitted to the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The changes will depend on investor's demand and market conditions after successfully trading on the stock exchange.

The unicorn IPO debut will record a new milestone in Indonesia's business landscape. In addition to being one of the listings with the greatest value over the past decade, it will also be the first among local unicorn startups. In terms of value, GoTo or Traveloka may overtake the position once they decided to register in Indonesia.

As previously reported, other unicorns have a tendency to prioritize going public on the New York stock exchange via SPAC. Bukalapak is also rumored to undergo the same act, after successfully go public on the local exchange.

Although currently backed with 47 shareholders, Bukalapak's majority shares are controlled by three main institutions, including PT Kreatif Media Karya (31.9%), API Investment Limited (17.4%), and GIC Singapore through Archipelago Investment Pte Ltd (12 ,6%).

Value Proposition

Since it was founded in 2011 by Achmad Zaky, Fajrin Rasyid, and Nugroho Herucahyono -- all three of whom are no longer active as the company's executives-- Bukalapak claims to have acquired more than 100 million users in Indonesia.

Various strategic innovations continue to be intensified, including the latest one regarding the plan to establish digital banking services with Standard Chartered, which is also an investor. Recently, the company has just completed its acquisition of the online marketplace platform Itemku, to expand its business in the digital game asset category.

Other features such as BukaPegadaian (B2B Commerce), Mitra Bukalapak, Buka Mutual Investment, and others are currently the company's development focus. It is to present an additional value proposition than its competitors. Based on some research, Bukalapak is placed in third place after Shopee and Tokopedia.

In order to strengthen the company's organizational structure, the company has also appointed Bambang Brodjonegoro and Yenny Wahid as company commissioners.

Last April 2021, Bukalapak closed its series G funding, the value of which was estimated to be over 5.7 trillion Rupiah. A number of investors were involved in this round, including UBS Group AG, Resorts World, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, BRI Ventures, and several previous investors.