30 firms may float public issues in Oct-Nov to mop up Rs 45,000 cr

Hectic fundraising through initial public offerings (IPOs) is expected in October-November, with at least 30 companies are looking to collectively raise over Rs 45,000 crore through initial share-sales, merchant banking sources said.

Of the total fundraising, a large chunk would be garnered by technology-driven companies.

The successful IPO of food delivery company Zomato, which was overwhelmingly subscribed by over 38 times, encouraged new-age tech companies to come out with their primary share-sales.

Historically, companies like Zomato have raised funds from private equity players and the IPO has opened up a new source of funding for new-age tech companies, Jyoti Roy, deputy vice-president (equity strategist) of Angel One, said.

The firms that are expected to raise funds through their IPOs during October-November include Policybazaar (Rs 6,017 crore), Emcure Pharmaceuticals (Rs 4,500 crore) Nykaa (Rs 4,000 crore), CMS Info Systems (Rs 2,000 crore), MobiKwik Systems (Rs 1,900 crore), the merchant banking sources said.

In addition, Northern Arc Capital (Rs 1,800 crore), Ixigo (Rs 1,600 crore), Sapphire Foods (Rs 1,500 crore), Fincare Small Finance Bank (Rs 1,330 crore), Sterlite Power (Rs 1,250 crore) RateGain Travel Technologies (Rs 1,200 crore) and Supriya Lifescience (Rs 1,200 crore) may float their IPOs during the period under review, they added.

Angel One's Roy attributed the impressive IPO pipeline in the coming month to several factors, including a stronger-than-expected recovery in the economy after the second wave, continued FPIs and domestic flows in the markets and an increase in retail participation in the stock market in the past one year.

Going forward, the IPO boom is expected to extend in the coming year if the prevailing market situation remains constant or doesn't change much, Kaushlendra Singh Sengar, founder and CEO at INVEST19, said.

Making a similar statement, Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of True Beacon and Zerodha, said if the bull run continues for the next 1-2 years, the IPO rush will continue. Moreover, the technology sector is expected to remain a major market driver.

So far, in 2021, as many as 40 companies have floated their IPOs to raise Rs 64,217 crore. Further, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC will launch its Rs 2,778-crore initial share-sale on September 29.

Apart from these, PowerGrid InvIT, the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by Power Grid Corporation of India, mopped up Rs 7,735 crore through its IPO, and Brookfield India Real Estate Trust raised Rs 3,800 crore via its initial share-sale.

This was way higher than Rs 26,611 crore raised by 15 companies through initial share-sales in the entire 2020.

Such impressive fundraising through IPOs was last seen in 2017 when firms mobilised Rs 67,147 crore through 36 initial share-sales.

According to Kamath, IPOs rely heavily on market cycles and the IPO exuberance that has been witnessed in the last 18 months is a function of the current bull cycle. Companies look to take advantage of investor sentiments.

"The market is touching new highs and the strong response that we see in the primary market is nudging companies who were sitting on the fences to come and take advantage of the buoyant market," Vikas Singhania, CEO of TradeSmart, said.

He, further, said that companies are raising money for growth capital or inorganic growth opportunities in the future.

Many of the IPOs are an offer for sale (OFS), where private equity players or the promoter wants to cash out part of their holding.

"Nowadays, the entire process of IPO garners a lot of attention for such companies that act as an indirect promotion," Kamath said.

Initial share-sales are receiving tremendous applications from investors and IPOs have been subscribing multifold times. This has pushed companies to raise funds through IPO.

The initial share-sales of almost a dozen companies including Paras Defense and Space Technologies, MTAR Technologies, Easy Trip Planners, Devyani International, Rolex Rings, Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem and Nazara Technologies subscribed over 100 times.

Interestingly, the ongoing calendar year saw most of the IPOs opening with a premium over the issue price suggesting a strong investor appetite.

Laxmi Organic Industries, MTAR Technologies, Easy Trip Planners, GR Infraprojects, Clean Science and Technology, Macrotech Developers and Ami Organics which got listed this year, are trading above their issue price, giving smart returns in the range of 110 to 320 per cent, since listing, to investors.

INVEST19's Sengar said that with the current favourable interest rate scenario along with high liquidity, financial institutions offer IPO funding products at lower rates. The lower cost of funding will continue to support the IPO boom.

Further, PSU disinvestment will be a blockbuster to support to ongoing IPO boom. Listing of LIC is expected to happen in 2021-2022, which will be one of the largest IPOs in the history of the Indian market. This will aid the current ongoing buoyancy in the IPO market for 2022, he added.

Earlier this month, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi said that growth-oriented technology companies have raised Rs 15,000 crore through initial share sales in the last 18 months and IPOs worth around Rs 30,000 crore by such firms are in the pipeline.

"Growing number of unicorns in the startup ecosystem is a testimony of the new-age tech companies coming of age in our economy. These companies often follow a unique business model focusing more on rapid growth than immediate profitability," he had said.