IPO wrap: Balaji Phosphates IPO opens to weak demand, HP Telecom India makes decent debut and more

The effect of the weak broader equity markets has started spreading to the primary markets as well in the form of weak subscription numbers for public issues and poor listing gains for new IPOs.

On Friday, primary market investors witnessed the dull opening of another initial public offering (IPO) of a small and medium enterprise (SME), as another public issue closed just after managing to get fully subscribed. Additionally, two new stocks listed on the SME exchanges without generating any major gains for their subscribers.

Here’s a look at the major developments happening in the IPO market on Friday, February 28:

Balaji Phosphates Ltd IPO opens on a sombre note

The SME IPO of Balaji Phosphates Ltd opened today on a sombre note. The NSE SME issue was booked only 18% on the first day. The retail portion of the IPO was subscribed 21%, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) segment was booked 27%.

The IPO is a 100% book-built issue that aims to raise a total of ₹50.11 crore. It is a combination of a fresh issuance of 59.40 lakh shares, amounting to ₹41.58 crore, and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 12.18 lakh shares, aggregating to ₹8.53 crore.

Bidding in the Balaji Phosphates IPO will close on March 4. Allotment of shares is expected to be finalized on March 5. The company's shares are scheduled to list on the NSE Emerge platform on March 7.

Shreenath Paper Products IPO closes

The ₹23.36-crore SME IPO of Shreenath Paper Products Ltd closed today for subscription. The IPO was overall booked nearly 2 times on the last day. The retail portion of the issue was subscribed over 3 times while the NIIs segment was subscribed 52%.

Shares of the company are being offered at ₹44 apiece in a lot size of 3,000 units. The allotment of shares is expected on March 3. Shreenath Paper Products shares are scheduled to be listed on the BSE SME platform on March 5.

Allotment status to be announced for Nukleus Office Solutions IPO

Allotment in the ₹31.70-crore BSE SME IPO of Nukleus Office Solutions Ltd is expected to be announced by the end of the day today.

Investors can check the status on the official websites of the BSE or the IPO’s registrar Bigshare Services Pvt. Ltd. The issue, which was open for bidding from February 24 to February 27, was booked just around 1.3 times. The Nukleus Office Solutions stock is scheduled to list on the BSE SME platform on March 4.

Listing of two new SME stocks

Shares of SME firm Swasth Foodtech India Ltd made a disappointing trading debut today, with the stock listing flat on the BSE SME platform. Shares of the company opened the session at ₹94 apiece, the same as its IPO price. However, within minutes of trade, the stock fell 5% to hit the lower circuit limit of ₹89.3 apiece.

The ₹14.92-crore Swasth Foodtech India IPO, which was open for subscription from February 20 to February 24, was oversubscribed 7.8 times during the three-day bidding period.

Meanwhile, another SME firm HP Telecom India Ltd made a decent start on the NSE Emerge platform, with its stock listing at a premium of more than 6% over the IPO price.

Shares of the company opened at ₹115.05 apiece, up 6.5% from its issue price of ₹108 per share. The ₹34.23-crore HP Telecom India IPO was booked nearly 2 times from February 20 to February 24.