Asset manager Canara Robeco's nearly $150 million initial public offering (IPO) was fully subscribed on Monday, the final day of its three-day bidding process, led strong institutional interest after muted demand earlier.
The Mumbai-based firm's IPO drew bids worth Rs 21.23 billion ($239.7 million), 2.3 times the 34.9 million shares on offer, with demand led by qualified institutional buyers (QIB) who bid for four times their allotted portion, exchange data showed. Retail investors, who had the largest share reserved for them, subscribed 1.37 times.
The QIB portion excludes shares that were allocated to anchor investors such as SBI Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund ahead of the IPO.
The IPO values Canara Robeco at up to Rs 53.05 billion at the top of its Rs 253–266 price band, compared with market leader HDFC Asset Management Company's Rs 1.18 trillion valuation, per Reuters' calculations.
The company, a joint venture between India's Canara Bank and the European arm of Japan's ORIX, is the smallest by revenue among its listed peers, including HDFC AMC, Nippon Life India AMC and UTI AMC.
Canara Bank will sell a 13% stake, while ORIX will offload a 24.5% holding. The asset manager will not offer any new shares in the IPO, with the proceeds going to the two shareholders.
Its shares are expected to list on October 16.
The offering comes amid a record year for Indian IPOs, with investors gearing up for billion-dollar listings including LG Electronics India on Tuesday.
Canara Robeco Asset Management caters to investors through a portfolio largely focussed on equities, with a predominantly retail investor base. Other asset managers such as ICICI Prudential AMC are also eyeing listings in India this year.
SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and JM Financial are the lead managers for Canara Robeco's IPO.
