'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
After a year of decline, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in India increased 13.8 per cent, reaching $69.2 billion in the first nine months of 2024, as against $60.8 billion during the same period in 2023. Led by Indian companies and private-equity (PE) firms, 2,301 transactions were signed between January and September this year as compared to 1,855 transactions reported in the same period last year, according to the Bloomberg data.
It's raining IPOs, with eight issues hitting the market in a span of six days. However, the pace of new filings points to a deluge during the latter part of the year. So far this year, 58 companies have filed their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator for initial public offerings (IPOs), exceeding the combined tally of 50 in the last two years. Industry participants said the filing count could cross 100 this year, setting a new benchmark in terms of amount mobilised in a calendar year.
Even if the Paytm fiasco does not mark the end of the bull run, at least some sanity will return to the wild IPO market, observes Debashis Basu.
Of the total 199 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) listed this year so far, 22 had an issue size of less than Rs 10 crore, which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will no longer allow in the listed ecosystem after its recent consultation paper. The market regulator on Tuesday proposed an overhaul of the rules governing the initial public offerings (IPOs) of SMEs and corporate governance norms for listed SMEs, following concerns over 'systemic risk' seen in the ecosystem with instances of fund diversion and price manipulation.
Star Health and Allied Insurance's Rs 7,250-crore initial public offering (IPO), the third largest this year and eighth largest ever, just about managed to make it despite a poor response from investors, garnering just 79 per cent subscription, forcing the investment bankers to prune offer for sale (OFS) component. This is the second large offering after digital payments major Paytm this year to receive a lukewarm response from investors, a sign that despite the IPO frenzy investors are discerning when it comes to pricing. As Star Health didn't meet the profitability criteria, its IPO required a mandatory 75 per cent subscription from qualified institutional buyers (QIB).
Govt concerned about market conditions ahead of REC IPO as three major IPOs were withdrawn in January and few others have been shelved.
LIC's $2.7-billion initial public offering (IPO) shall be the fifth-biggest globally in CY22. South Korean EV battery maker LG Energy Solution holds the record for the year's largest IPO at $10.8 billion, while Chinese mobile communications provider China Mobile IPO, which raised $8.6 billion, comes second. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's (DEWA's) $6.1-billion IPO in March is currently the third biggest public offering for the year, followed by China National Offshore Oil Corporation's (CNOOC's) IPO; the firm had raised $5.1 billion by issuing shares in Mainland China after delisting from the American bourses.
LIC's public offer, the country's biggest-ever IPO, witnessed full subscription of the retail portion on day three on Friday. The overall issue was subscribed 1.38 times, according to data posted on stock exchanges on 7 pm. Against 16,20,78,067 shares on offer, 22,36,98,915 bids were received. However, the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) and Non-Institutional Investor (NII) portions are yet to be fully subscribed.
Once stability returns to the secondary market, companies that have obtained approval from Sebi will start tapping the market.
Fundraising activity in the upcoming financial year 2022-23 may even surpass FY22 when 52 Indian companies raised a record Rs 1.11 trillion via initial public offerings (IPOs). According to a note by PRIME Database, 54 companies (including LIC) plan to raise Rs 1.4 trillion and currently hold the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) approval. Another 43 companies, the note said, are looking to raise about Rs 81,000 crore but waiting for Sebi nod.
Benchmark indices--Sensex and Nifty--were 0.7-0.8 per cent higher from the Saturday closing. Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 39 advanced and the rest 11 declined at the opening bell. Among the individual stocks, Cipla, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Power Grid Corp, and Bharti Airtel were the top five gainers, while Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Britania, HDFC Bank, and BPCL the losers, NSE data showed. On Monday, Indian stock exchanges were closed for trading on the occasion of Pran Pratistha of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Divestment in major state-run firms is set to perk up the IPO space, with about six PSUs including Air India, BSNL, Oil India and NHPC, gearing up to sell equity sale in the primary market.
Foreign investors have poured Rs 57,359 crore into Indian equities in September, making it the highest inflow in nine months, mainly driven by a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. With this infusion, foreign portfolio investors' (FPIs) investment in equities has surpassed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in 2024, data with the depositories showed. Going ahead, FPI inflows are likely to remain robust, driven by global interest rate easing and India's strong fundamentals.
Stock market investors became richer by a whopping Rs 77.66 lakh crore in 2024, helped by an overall optimistic trend in equities, where the BSE Sensex surged over 8 per cent. Analysts said the year witnessed a tug of war between the bulls and bears marked by volatility but, despite the uncertainties around the world, the Indian markets sustained the pressure and delivered impressive returns.
'Whenever markets rally, the IPO pricing gets aligned to the prevailing market conditions.'
'Had there been no war, maybe, we would come out with a 7.5 per cent stake sale.' 'At this point in time, a 3.5 per cent stake sale looked good.'
The IPO lane will continue to be busy in December as 10 companies have lined up initial share-sale plans worth more than Rs 10,000 crore, merchant banking sources said on Wednesday. Moreover, the initial public offerings of Star Health and Allied Insurance and Tega Industries are currently open for public subscription. This comes after 10 firms successfully concluded their initial public offerings (IPOs) in November. Among the companies that scheduled their IPOs in this month include RateGain Travel Technologies, travel and hospitality technology services provider, and Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd, part of Mumbai-based financial services group Anand Rathi.
Shares of all the 14 companies are currently trading above their issue price.
National Hydroelectric Power Corporation will hit the market with an initial public offering by August this year and govt has assured the 'mini-ratna' status to the public sector unit. The IPO, scheduled for last year, got delayed as the company had not appointed non-official directors on time, a condition mandatory for any company to float an IPO. As per the guidelines of market regulator Sebi, 50 per cent of the board must be of non-official directors.
The Centre's decision to not reduce the face value of shares of India's Crown Jewel - Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) - was taken to make shareholders feel they are acquiring something 'precious'. The face value of LIC's shares was retained at Rs 10, quoted in the draft prospectus, as it would also align the insurer's shares with those of its private sector peers. Even as the LIC Act was amended to "consolidate or reduce the nominal or face value of the shares", with the Centre's approval, it was decided to stick to the current face value of shares at Rs 10 without splitting the existing 6.32 billion shares.
The company, backed by China's Ant Group, is planning to issue fresh shares worth Rs 7,500 crore in the IPO. This will make this India's third-largest offering after Reliance Power and DLF.
The government has appointed 10 merchant bankers including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India to manage the mega initial public offering of country's largest insurer LIC. Other selected bankers include SBI Capital Market, JM Financial, Axis Capital, BofA Securities, JP Morgan India, ICICI Securities, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co Ltd, a circular on the divestment department website said. "Government has finalised the book running lead managers and some other advisors for the IPO of LIC," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. The divestment department had invited applications for the appointment of merchant bankers on July 15.
Indian bourses saw over $8 billion worth of initial public offers in 2007, but this is just a shade higher than the world's single-largest IPO that was brought by a Russian company.
Reliance Power is being touted as India's biggest ever IPO with an estimated size of over $3 billion, surpassing just over $2 billion raised by DLF. This would be the first ever IPO from Anil Ambani group after being carved out from the erstwhile Reliance empire in 2005.
Framing the next chapter in Swiggy's journey as a responsible corporate citizen, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sriharsha Majety unveiled the company's eagerly awaited public listing. Majety, who has largely shunned the spotlight, shared reflections on his entrepreneurial path and the strategic pivots he and his co-founders navigated in building Swiggy. "We started with code aggregation, then pivoted to logistics, and that became Swiggy.
Eleven years on, while 80% of scam-hit investors have been fully compensated, more than 50% of the sum is yet to be distributed.
MobiKwik employees exercised their ESOPs (Employee stock ownership) in a recently opened window by selling part of their shares in a secondary sale. "The secondary round was led by ex-Blackstone India head, Mathew Cyriac, who topped up his holding at almost double of his previous price," the sources said.
Food delivery platform Zomato's initial public offering was oversubscribed on the opening day on Wednesday with retail investors bidding for 2.7 times the number of shares reserved for them. The offer received bids for 75.60 crore equity shares against an IPO size of 71.92 crore, stock exchange data showed. Retail investors sought 2.69 times the portion reserved for them. Against 12.95 crore shares reserved for retail individual investors, 34.88 crore shares were bid by 1700 hours.
HNI investors need an optimal mix of oversubscription and listing-day gain to make money on leveraged bets, notes Sanjay Kumar Singh.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has mulled introduction of confidential initial public offering (IPO) filings and "pre-filing" of offer documents, a move aimed at giving issuers flexibility and alleviating concerns around privacy. Industry players said the concept, if implemented, would give a fillip to the domestic capital markets, ease the process and encourage more companies to go public. To be sure, the proposals are still at a discussion stage with Sebi just floating a consultation paper seeking public feedback.
Private equity (PE) activity in India between January and November 2024 recorded a total value of $30.89 billion across 1,022 deals, a 22.7 per cent increase in value and an 18.4 per cent rise in deal count compared to $25.17 billion across 863 deals during the same period in 2023. Notable large deals during the period include Walton Street India Investment Advisors at $1.5 billion, and KiranaKart Technologies at $1.35 billion.
'A time-wise, as well as price correction, so that the market can absorb the gains made over the past 17 months.'
The government is planning to soon file the final papers for LIC IPO with market regulator Sebi, which will provide details about the price band, discount for policyholders and retail buyers, and the actual number of shares to be put on the block, an official said. The government is presently in the wait-and-watch mode because of the market volatility induced by the Russia-Ukraine war and will decide on the timing of the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). "We have got the approval of the DRHP and the next step would be to file the RHP, which will give details of the price band and the actual number of shares.
LIC's public offer, the country's biggest-ever IPO, saw the policyholders' portion being oversubscribed on the first day itself on Wednesday, though overall subscription stood at just 66 per cent. The government aims to generate about Rs 21,000 crore by selling 3.5 per cent stake in the insurance behemoth. The LIC initial public offering (IPO), open for retail and institutional investors, is set to close on May 9. The issue period also includes bidding on Saturday, May 7.
The dozen firms to have listed following their IPOs have seen an average listing day gain of 49 per cent. IPO applicants have made money on all the deals, barring two, which saw modest declines on listing day.
The country's legacy two-wheeler giants - Bajaj Auto and TVS - are fighting a neck-and-neck battle for market share, with the former threatening to dislodging its rival soon. The Pune-based giant, which was trailing far behind TVS just two months ago in e-two-wheelers (e2Ws), has upped the ante. It has increased its market share based on Vahan registrations from 11.6 per cent in June (when it sold only 9,046 electric two wheelers) to 19.3 per cent (when it sold 14,977 this month till August 30).
If companies manage to raise Rs 10,000 crore, this will be the best year for IPOs since FY11.
Food delivery company Zomato's Rs 9,375-crore initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on July 14, said investment banking sources on Wednesday. The company initially was looking to raise Rs 7,500 crore through the offering. Investment banking sources said the issue size has been increased because of the robust demand from investors.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) by start-ups are bringing cheer to investors and investment bankers alike. After food delivery company Zomato, Nykaa has issued the fattest pay cheque to the managers of its share sale -- Rs 148 crore, or 2.8 per cent of its issue proceeds of Rs 5,300 crore. In absolute terms, this is the second-highest amount paid to investment bankers for handling an IPO, while in percentage terms, it is the highest for large IPOs (>$300 million) in the last one year, shows an analysis of the data provided by Prime Database, a primary market tracker.
