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Equitas Small Finance Bank Shares Close 0.6% Below IPO Price On Debut

Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank fell as much as 9% from its IPO price and ended the day 0.6% lower at Rs 32.80 apiece.

People hold Indian rupee banknotes for a photograph in India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
People hold Indian rupee banknotes for a photograph in India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd. made a tepid debut on the exchanges, in line with the response its IPO received in the primary market.

India’s second-largest microfinance lender by deposits listed at Rs 31 apiece, a 6% discount to the issue price of Rs 33. The stock fell as much as 9% in early trade to Rs 30.05 and ended the day 0.6% lower at Rs 32.80 per share.

A total of 2.682 crore shares of the company traded on the BSE and NSE traded on the first day, according to Bloomberg data.

Equitas Small Finance Bank’s Rs 517-crore initial public offering was subscribed 1.95 times, led by institutional investors. The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers subscribed 3.91 times. Non-institutional investors bid 22% on the shares earmarked for them, while the retail category subscribed 2.08 times.

The lender had raised Rs 139.68 crore by allocating over 4.2 crore shares to 35 anchor investors ahead of the IPO.

The IPO comprised a fresh issue worth Rs 280 crore and an offer-for-sale where promoter Equitas Holdings Ltd. sold 7.2 crore shares.

Equitas Small Finance Bank was required by Reserve Bank of India to list within three years of launch. While that got delayed—first by a scheme of arrangement that didn’t work out, then by the Covid-19 pandemic—the lender hit the bourses on Monday to comply with regulations.