Some retail investors pull out of Cairn IPO

Some retail investors have withdrawn from the initial public offer (IPO) of Cairn India after the closure of the issue, which managed to receive 1.1 times subscription.

The development, however, did not have much of an impact on the issue as the unsubscribed portion was made good by qualified institutional bidders. The issue will be listed on January 9.

When contacted, a Cairn India spokesperson said though some retail investors withdrew their applications, the overall impact was minimal. He said the underwriters did not need to step in, as the QIB portion received 1.5 times subscription.

According to sources close to the developments, the response from QIBs was encouraging, with

Blackstone alone investing $50 million.

Sources in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) also said the issue saw some withdrawals, but they were not alarming.

Meanwhile, Cairn India today changed the registrar for its Rs 5,260 crore IPO after the Calcutta High Court restrained Intime

Spectrum Registry from signing new contracts or acting on any contracts after August 18.

The court ruling came after MCS, a share registry firm, filed a petition in the court alleging non-compliance of an agreement it had entered into with Intime Spectrum.

A Cairn spokesperson said the new registrar to the issue will be Big Share. He said, as per Sebi directions, the company will issue a public notice to the effect that the registrar to the issue is being changed.

He said the company will file the basis of allotment with the Registrar of Companies on Tuesday. The IPO had already received the basis of allotment from the NSE, he added.

Cairn India had offered 328.80 million shares at a price band of Rs 160-190 per share and subsequently settled at the lower end of the band at Rs 160 a share.

Cairn's stock has been trading at a low on the London's FTSE since the closure of the issue on December 15. The stock price has fallen from 2100 pence on December 11 to 1799 pence today.