Indian companies line up ~250 billion public offers

The initial public offering (IPO) lane seems to get busier as over two dozen companies have lined up initial share sale plans worth Rs 25,000 crore in the coming months, largely to fund their expansion projects and working capital requirements.

Hindustan Aeronautics, ICICI Securities, BarbequeNation Hospitality and Flemingo Travel Retail are among the names that plan to launch share-sale offers in the coming months.

Most of these companies plan to utilise initial public offer (IPO) proceeds for business expansion as well as working capital requirements, as per the draft papers filed with capital markets regulator Sebi.

Besides, some of the firms believe the listing of equity shares on bourses will enhance their brand name and provide liquidity to existing shareholders.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality, ICICI Securities, Bharat Dynamics and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency -have secured Sebi's goahead this year to float their public offers.

In addition, 20 companies including RITES, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd, Bandhan Bank, IndoStar Capital Finance, Nazara Technologies and Route Mobile are awaiting the regulator's approval to float IPOs.

Together, these companies are expected to raise nearly Rs 25,000 crore, merchant banking sources said.

Moreover, five companies, including Newgen Software Technologies and Amber Enterprises India, have already hit the capital markets According to experts, the IPO market will continue to see hectic activity as over a dozen firms are awaiting Sebi's nod to launch their public issues. Besides, higher valuation of secondary market would attract investors towards IPOs.

The year 2017 saw 36 companies collectively raising over Rs 67,000 crore trough their respective IPOs, making it the best year. The previous high being in 2010 when Rs 37,535 crore was garnered, almost half the amount.

Experts said that proactive regulatory environment coupled with uplifted investor sentiment has helped the IPO market.