The IPO wave doesn't let up in May; The clarity of the elections strengthens investor confidence

With Indian stock markets outperforming major global indices in April despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and election-related uncertainty, the primary market will continue to see a flurry of IPOs and listings in May. Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd, Indegene, TBO Tek and others are expected to raise up to Rs 7,000 crore from initial public offerings this month.

This year, India's primary market bucked the two-decade trend of coming to a virtual standstill ahead of a general election with record fundraising. Data shows that the amount raised in IPOs in the six months leading up to the 2024 election cycle is more than seven times the amount raised in the previous four election cycles combined.

“And more issues are likely to be launched in May,” Pranav Haldea, managing director of Prime Database Group, told Moneycontrol. Experts said investors and companies were less uncertain about the outcome of the elections this year, leading to strong positive sentiment in both the primary and secondary markets.

Despite the general elections, the IPO pipeline remains robust, said Mahavir Lunawat, managing director of Pantomath Capital Advisors. “Despite a lackluster start to the IPO market in FY25, we are optimistic about the potential of upcoming public issues,” he added.

Here are the upcoming IPOs in May

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Indegene IPO

Carlyle and Nadathur Fareast-backed private equity firm Indegene, which provides digital commercialization services to the life sciences industry, will launch its initial public offering on May 6. The price band for the Rs 1,842 crore issue has been fixed at Rs 430-452 per share. The IPO, which will close on May 8, comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 760 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 2.39 crore shares by the existing shareholders.

The Bengaluru-based company has reserved up to 50 percent of the net issue size for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), 15 percent for non-institutional investors (NIIs or High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs)) and the remaining 35 percent for retail investors. The anchor book, up to 60 percent of the QIB share, will open for subscription on May 3rd.

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Also read | Manappuram Finance arm Asirvad Micro gets approval from Sebi for IPO

IPO of TBO Tek

General Atlantic-backed TBO Tek, an online travel distribution platform, will be the second company after Indegene to go public with its IPO on Dalal Street in May. The IPO will open for subscription on May 8 and close on May 10, 2024, while the price range is expected to be announced by the end of the current week.

The public issue comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth Rs 1.25 crore by promoters and investors.

Founded by Gaurav Bhatnagar and Ankush Nijhawan, TBO Tek will spend Rs 260 crore from the net issue proceeds to grow and strengthen its platform by attracting new buyers and suppliers. Additionally, Rs 40 crore will be used for unidentified inorganic acquisitions and the remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The company has reserved 75 per cent of the net public issue for QIBs, 15 per cent for NIIs/HNIs ​​and the remaining 10 per cent shares for retail investors.

Aadhar Housing Finance IPO

Blackstone-backed Aadhar Housing Finance is expected to launch its IPO later this month. The company has decided to reduce the size of its IPO to Rs 3,000 crore from the initially planned Rs 5,000 crore as the affordable home financier prepares to launch the issue in early May, four people in the know told Moneycontrol.

Initially, the offer price was Rs 4,000 crore and has now been increased to Rs 2,000 crore. As per the original bifurcation, the IPO consisted of a fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 1,000 crore and an offering component of up to Rs 4,000 crore. Aadhar Housing Finance's IPO valuation has been pegged at around Rs 13,500 crore, the source said.

Also read | General Atlantic-backed TBO Tek's IPO will take place on May 8 at Dalal Street

Go Digit General Insurance IPO

Go Digit General Insurance, backed by Prem Watsa's Canada-based Fairfax Group, is also expected to launch its first public offering this month. Markets regulator SEBI gave Go Digit, which was last valued at $3.5 billion, the green light for an IPO in March this year after several compliance issues delayed the approval of the deal, originally scheduled for 2022.

According to DRHP, the company plans to raise Rs 1,250 crore through its listing in addition to an OFS of 109.4 million shares. To date, Go Digit has not announced any IPO dates or details. Notably, the company's investors include cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife, actress Anushka Sharma.

Upcoming SME IPOs in May

Slone Infosystems goes public

Slone Infosystems, an IT hardware solutions provider, also planned to raise funds through the IPO on May 3, the last day of next week. The deadline for entries is May 7th. It aims to raise Rs 11.06 crore through IPO of 14,000 shares at Rs 79 per share. It is a fixed price problem.

The Mumbai-based company will spend the fresh spending money on purchasing laptops, desktops, SSDs and RAM. In addition, the funds will be used to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes.

Finelistings Technologies IPO

The Finelistings Technologies IPO will open for subscription on May 7 and close on May 9, 2024. It is a BSE SME IPO and the company aims to raise Rs 13.53 crore through the initial share sale. The issue price is Rs 123 per share.

The company, which operates in various business verticals, particularly retailing of used luxury cars and software development services, has reserved 50 per cent of the net public issue for NIIs/HNIs ​​and the remaining 50 per cent shares for retail investors. The allotment date for the IPO is May 10 and the IPO could take place on the BSE on May 14, 2024.

Also read | Indegene IPO: 10 things you should know before subscribing to the Rs 1,841 crore issue

Winsol Engineers IPO

Winsol Engineers Limited is expected to launch its IPO on May 6. The company provides integrated engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for Balance of Plant (BoP) solutions for solar and wind energy generation companies.

The tender for the IPO of Winsol Engineers closes on May 9th. The allotment of the IPO is expected to be completed on May 10 and shares of Winsol Engineers will be listed on the NSE SME. The provisional listing date is May 14th.

The price range for Winsol Engineers' IPO is Rs 71-75 per share. The lot size of the IPO is 1,600 shares. At the higher end of the price range, the company plans to raise Rs 23.36 crore from the book-built issue, which will be entirely a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 31.15 lakh. The Company plans to use the net proceeds for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

IPO of refractory molds

Brick maker Refractory Shapes will also launch its IPO this month. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) IPO (all-new edition) opens for subscription on May 6 and closes on May 9. The Mumbai-based company has set the price band for the issue at Rs 27-31 per share.

Retail investors are required to invest a minimum of Rs 1.24 lakh, with the minimum lot size for an application being 4,000 shares. Through this bookbuilding issue, the company aims to raise over Rs 18.60 Crore.

Entries this month

In addition to the companies mentioned above, three more companies from the medium-sized segment are scheduled to go public this month. These include Storage Technologies & Automation, Amkay Products and Sai Swami Metals & Alloys.

Storage Technologies & Automation, which designs and manufactures storage racking systems under the Racks & Rollers brand, launched its IPO worth Rs 29.95 crore for subscription on April 30, with a price band of Rs 73-78 per share.

The public issue, which comprises only fresh issue of shares worth ₹38.4 lakh without any offer-to-sale (OFS) component, will be completed on May 3 and the company will list on the stock exchanges on May 8

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Maharashtra-based healthcare products maker Amkay Products' IPO will also close on May 3 and the company will go public on May 8. The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 52-55 per share. At the high end, it is expected to raise Rs 12.61 crore through an IPO of 22.92 lakh shares, which includes only a fresh issue.

The IPO of Sai Swami Metals & Alloys will be completed on May 3 and allotment is expected to be completed on May 6. The stainless steel products retailer will be listed on the BSE SME with the tentative listing date set at May 8.

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