Rel Power to offer 5-10% discount to retail investors

New Year blast for primary market

Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power (Rel Power) will offer 5-10 per cent discount to retail investors for its Rs 11,700 crore initial public offer (IPO), slated to hit the market from January 15 to 18. The company will sell 260 million shares at Rs 405 to 450 apiece, according to investment bankers.

The issue, which got the approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) last week, will kick-start its roadshows this week itself.

The Rel Power IPO is likely to be the first one to offer retail investors a discount.

The IPO, billed to be the largest issue to hit the Indian capital market, will surpass the record set by Delhi-based DLF, which raised about Rs 9,000 crore last year.

The funds raised will be used to fund its gas, coal and hydropower generation projects in India.

The company is owned a little over 50 per cent by Reliance Energy and the rest is held by the R-ADAG investment firms. Parent Reliance Energy quadrupled in value last year, the best-performing stock on India's benchmark index, as the government plans to invest $200 billion in electricity generation and distribution in seven years to sustain record economic growth.

"In this bull market, the issue will sail through comfortably,'' said Murali Krishnan, head of research at MF Global Ltd. in Mumbai.

"The amount of IPOs lined up this year, which could be more than $20 billion, could bring down the secondary market as investors sell holdings to buy in IPOs.''