Gandhar Oil Refinery soars 78% on market debut; Fedfina ends flat

Gandhar Oil Refinery (India) finished 79 per cent over its issue price during its trading debut on Thursday. After more than doubling, the stock closed at Rs 302, up by Rs 133, or 79 per cent over its issue price of Rs 169.

The stock hit a high of Rs 344 and a low of Rs 295 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), where shares worth Rs 1,178 crore changed hands. The stellar listing day gains follow strong demand for the shares of the consumer oil manufacturer during its Rs 500-crore initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO had garnered over 65 times subscription. Through the IPO, Gandhar, a leading manufacturer of white oils used in the consumer and healthcare industries, raised Rs 302 crore in fresh capital, which will be used to retire its debt and for capacity expansion.

At the last close, the company was valued at Rs 2,951 crore. For the quarter ended June 2023, Gandhar had posted a profit of Rs 54.3 crore on revenues of Rs 1,070 crore.

Fedfina ends flat

Meanwhile, shares of Fedbank Financial Services (Fedfina), a non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm of Federal Bank, closed slightly below their IPO price. They ended at Rs 139.3 versus the issue price of Rs 140.

The stock hit a high of Rs 148.25 and a low of Rs 133 on the NSE, where shares worth nearly Rs 500 crore changed hands.
 

Compared to the other four issues that closed last week, Fedfina's Rs 1,092-crore IPO had garnered a modest subscription of just 2.2 times. At the last close, Fedfina was valued at Rs 5,139 crore, about 2.5 times its book value, which analysts said was “fully priced.

Thomas Cook OFS subscribed 2.1x
 

The Rs 500-crore offer for sale (OFS) by Thomas Cook India was subscribed 2.14 times on Thursday. The 40-million share offering saw bids for 85.7 million shares largely from institutional investors. 

Most of the bids came at Rs 135 as against the base price of Rs 125. Shares of Thomas Cook fell 5 per cent to close at Rs 150 in the secondary market trading. About 4 million shares reserved for retail investors will be auctioned on Friday. Through the OFS promoter Fairbridge Capital will divest 8.5 per cent stake.

At the end of September 2023 quarter, it held 72.34 per cent in the travel services provider.

Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax through its Fairbridge had picked up 77 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India in May 2012 for Rs 817 crore from its UK parent Thomas Cook Group. At the last close, Thomas Cook was valued at Rs 7,072 crore.