With issues worth over Rs 35,000 crore, April set for IPO rush

MUMBAI: Amid the two-month-long, seven-phase general elections ending early June, companies looking to hit the capital markets with primary and secondary issues are advancing them to April. Nearly a dozen issuers are lining up equity sales worth over Rs 35,000 crore in the month. The month already saw a bumper issue — the Rs 4,275-crore offer-for-sale by Bharti Hexacom earlier this week.

The bundling of the issues, according to two investment bankers, is primarily because Maharashtra and Gujarat–two of the largest markets for capital markets in particular and overall investments in general—will be going to the polls in May in multiple phases.

The new fiscal got off to a smooth ride with the Rs 4,275 crore offer for sale by Bharti Hexacom, an arm of the mobile major Bharti Airtel, which got listed with a 32.4 percent gain over the issue price of Rs 570. According to Axis Capital, one of the leading domestic i-bankers, there are over 30 issues lined up for the first quarter, most of which will take place in April and June.

According to Axis Capital, in the last fiscal 80 issues raised Rs 68,000 crore through IPOs/FPOs/OFSes and this fiscal is likely to see more than 120 issues which are likely to mop up over Rs 1.25 trillion, or 30 issues each quarter.

Two i-bankers, who wished not to be quoted, told The New Indian Express Friday that they are working on nearly a dozen issues which are likely to collectively garner over Rs 35,000 crore. More than half of this (Rs 18,000 crore to be precise) will come from the follow-on-public offer (FPO) being launched by the financially struggling mobile operator Vodafone Idea next week.