Life is not a template and neither is mine. Like several who have worked as journalists, I am a generalist in my over two decade experience across print, global news wires and dotcom firms. But there has been one underlying theme in each phase; life gave me the chance to observe and tell a story -- from early days tracking a securities scam to terror attacks and some of India's most significant court trials. Besides writing, I have jumped fences to become an entrepreneur, as an investment advisor -- and also taught the finer aspects of business journalism to young minds. At Forbes India, I also keep an eye on some of its proprietary specials like the Rich list, GenNext and Celebrity lists. An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Communications and H.R College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, I have worked for organisations such as Agence France-Presse, Business Standard, The Financial Express and The Times of India prior to this.
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.