The £1.83 billion IPO for One97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, was subscribed nearly twice the offer size when it closed on Wednesday last. While the retail part was subscribed 1.7 times, the institutional part was subscribed 2.8 times and the part reserved for high net worth investors (HNIs) was subscribed just 24%, BSE data showed. Till day 2 (the previous day) of the offer, the IPO was subscribed 48%.
The IPO for the tech enabled payments solutions pioneer in India is set to be the largest such offering in India, ahead of Coal India’s £1.52 billion in 2010. The IPO bidding round for Paytm, one of India’s leading startups, closed the same day Nykaa - another startup - listed successfully on the stock exchanges with a valuation in excess of £10 billion. In July, the highly successful listing of Zomato, a startup that is one of the leaders in India’s food delivery industry, had paved the way for many more to take the route to go public, market players said.
According to sources, some of the investors which bought Paytm shares during the anchor round, which closed on November 3, have also put in large bids during the just closed bidding round. One of the largest pension funds in the world, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), put in a bid worth nearly £130 million, they said.
A spokesperson for Paytm said the company’s successful closing of the IPO bidding round was a testament to the India story, its startup ecosystem and the depth of the Indian capital markets that enabled it to reach this milestone. “Our belief in the power of Indian tech dominance stands proven,” the spokesperson said. “We hope to continue to strive and drive financial inclusion for the underserved and unserved population of the country.”
