Western Carriers IPO Day 2: Issue Subscribed 2.67 Times; Retail Investors Bid Over 4.27x

The second day of bidding, the Western Carriers (India) IPO, has been subscribed 2.67 times on Monday thus far. Bids for 5,57,20,194 shares were received in the initial public offering, compared to the 2,08,68,467 shares that were offered.

With 4.27 times as many subscriptions, the section designated for retail individual investors (RIIs) received the highest amount of interest.

The amount subscribed to was 2.43 times greater for the non-institutional investors (NIIs) category. Just 1 per cent of qualified institutional buyers' quota was subscribed.

Price band and subscription timetable

The price range for the Kolkata-based company's initial public offering (IPO) is Rs 163 to Rs 172 per share. The IPO is open from September 12 to September 18.

IPO structure

An offer for sale (OFS) component by promoter Rajendra Sethia worth up to 54 lakh equity shares, valued at Rs 93 crore, and a new issue of equity shares worth Rs 400 crore make up the Rs 492.88 crore initial public offering (IPO).

Anchor investment

During the anchor round on Thursday, the company received funding totalling Rs 148 crore from investors, including Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund (MF), Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, Kotak MF, Nippon India MF, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius.

The company has allocated 85.97 lakh shares to 15 funds at the upper end of the price range of Rs 172 per unit, making the total transaction size of Rs 148 crore.

Utilisation of IPO proceeds

The new issue's proceeds will go towards funding the purchase of reach stackers, shipping containers, and commercial vehicles in addition to general corporate purposes and debt repayment.

Company's offerings

The top private multimodal, rail-focused, asset-light logistics company in India is called Western Carriers. It served 1,647 clients in a variety of industries as of March 2024, including building materials, chemicals, FMCG, utilities, metals and mining, and oil and gas.