Fundraising via IPOs at record high; crosses Rs 40,000 crore mark in CY17

With the initial public offering (IPO) of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) getting fully-subscribed, fund-raising through the IPO route has hit a record high so far in 2017, crossing Rs 40,000 crore mark.

Thus far in the calendar year 2017 (CY17), 28 companies have collectively mopped up Rs 44,853 crore through IPOs, surpassing its previous high recorded seven year ago. In entire CY10, as many as 64 companies had raised Rs 37,535 crore via IPOs.

Till September 2017, 24 companies had raised Rs 30,853 crore in first nine months of CY17, data from PRIME Database show. In October, four companies - Godrej Agrovet, MAS Financial Services, Indian Energy Exchange and GIC Re - have collectively mobilised around Rs 14,000 crore, taking tally to Rs 44,853 crore in CY17.

The amount raised is 82% higher as compared to the same period last year when 24 companies had mobilised Rs 24,653 crore from the primary market between January and October 2016. In entire CY16, total 26 firms had raised Rs 26,494 crore, data show.

Among sectors, financials including housing finance and insurance companies, have cornered nearly two-third share, or about Rs 30,000 crore, of the total fund raising thus far in CY17. The companies from the sectors like construction, trading and pharmaceutical raised over Rs 1,000 crore though IPOs.

Analysts say the positive secondary market sentiment has rubbed off on the primary market as well, with 12 out of 24 companies debuting on the exchanges this year listing at over 10% premium against their respective issue price.

"Promoters are making use of the bull run in the secondary market to raise funds via the IPO route. Valuations for a lot of mid-cap companies have improved over time, and promoters are using this opportunity to tap the market for funds, including micro-finance companies, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and private banks," explains G. Chokkalingam, founder & managing director, Equinomics Research.

Avenue Supermarts, the owner of the D-Mart brand, Central Depository Services (India) or CDSL, Shankara Building Products, Apex Frozen Foods and PSP Projects have seen their market value more than doubled from their issue price. Dixon Technologies, AU Small Finance Bank, Capacit'e Infraprojects, Housing & Urban Development Corporation and Cochin Shipyard were up in the range of 30% to 65% against their issue price.

With the economic cycle likely to witness an upturn going ahead, analysts expect more companies, especially from the banking and NBFC space to hit the primary market. This, they feel, will also be led by the need for capital for expansion purposes.

"Credit growth is likely pick up over time given the formalisation of the economy. That apart, consumption and penetration levels of corporates (into rural India) are going up. For this, corporates, including banks and NBFCs, will need funds to grow. The unlisted ones, as a result, will tap the markets to meet this requirement," says Vinay Khattar, associate director and head of research at Edelweiss.

On the other hand, big ticket IPOs like SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and ERIS Lifesciences has underperformed the market by recording single digit or negative return post their listing.

"A lot also depends on the IPO pricing as well. For these insurance companies, the pricing was aggressive and left little for the investors on the table. As a result the IPOs have underperformed at the bourses," Chokkalingam adds.