S Chand and Company IPO oversubscribed near 60 times

The initial public offering of textbook publishers S Chand and Company drew strong investor interest on the last day of its three-day subscription. The offer was oversubscribed 59.49 times according to data from the BSE and the National Stock Exchange on Friday night.

The Rs 728.5 crore IPO got bids for 45,72,01,910 shares against a total issue size of 76,85,284 shares, for a price band of Rs 660 to Rs 670 a share.

The reserve portion for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was oversubscribed 45 times while that set aside for retail investors was oversubscribed about six times.

The New Delhi-based S Chand and Company was incorporated in 1970 and has since been book publishers for primary and secondary schools, higher secondary academics and accounting, tax and engineering exams and other technical subjects.

Proceeds from the issue would be used to repay and prepay loans as well as for general corporate purposes, the company has said in its prospectus. The loan amount includes those taken by its subsidiary for funding the acquisition of Chhaya Prakashani, it added.

S Chand’s offer comes just weeks after the IPO of Avenue.

Supermarts Ltd’s (operator of the D-Mart brand of stores) received a roaring response from investors, being oversubscribed 106 times. The DMart stock listed at a 102 percent premium to its issue price of Rs 299, on the first day of trading at the markets.

S Chand’s offering, though of much smaller size than Avenue Supermarts and even the upcoming Hudco (Housing and Urban Development Corporation) – which is the first state-owned company in five years to hit the capital markets – appears to have drawn investor interest, despite operating in a niche segment of educational books publishing.