New Delhi, Apr 23 (IANS): Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on Friday refuted a report claiming the company is likely to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), as the food delivery platform plans an initial public offerings (IPO) this year that has left millions devastated in the second lethal Covid wave.

In a tweet, Goyal said the speculation is "incorrect".

"This is incorrect. Wouldn't typically comment on speculation, but had to in order to stop the barrage of phone calls from the press and friends/family. Back to work," he tweeted.

Zomato is planning for a $750 million-$1 billion IPO later this year, as more people now order food online.

In February, Zomato raised $250 million (around Rs 1,800 crore) in a new funding round from five different investors. The transactions valued Zomato at a post-money valuation of $5.4 billion.

The new funding for Zomato came just a couple of months after closing a $660 million financing round.

The fact is that the Covid resurgence in India is expected to not only impact India's secondary markets but also the FY22 IPO season.

Many Unicorns have announced plans to tap the IPO market. At present, more than a dozen companies have received market regulator's approval, and another dozen, including Zomato, are awaiting the same to go public.

Over the last 10 years, the internet usage in India has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent, resulting in 13 times growth of the sector and preparing notable startups in the areas of e-tailing, online grocery and others to launch their IPOs in the near future, according to a latest RedSeer report.

As online platforms see more adoption and increase in new users, they are clocking better unit economics. This is adding on to their stability and making them set for IPOs.