Bharti Infratel's Rs 4,500-cr IPO subscribed 15% on Day 1

The Rs 4,500-crore Bharti Infratel IPO, tipped as the second biggest public issue in two years, was subscribed 15 per cent on the first day of the offer today.

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The telecom tower company's initial public offer (IPO) attracted bids for 2.45 crore shares against 18.89 crore equity shares on offer, according to stock exchanges data till 1700 hrs. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 13 per cent, while the shares for retail investors got subscribed one per cent, the data said.

The issue comprising 18.89 crore equity shares started for retail investors today in the price band of Rs 210-240 per share. The issue will close on December 14. At the upper end of the price band, Bharti Infratel would
raise about Rs 4,533.60 crore, while at the lower end it could end up with Rs 3,966.90 crore.

The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. Bharti Airtel, which owns about 86 per cent of Bharti Infratel, is not participating in the share sale. The Sunil Bharti Mittal led-company plans to raise Rs 4,533.60 crore, biggest from public issue in two years after state-run Coal India's offer in October 2010.

The company has said the proceeds from the IPO will be used to fund its expansion and future acquisitions. Yesterday, Bharti Infratel had received Rs 651.7 crore from 18 anchor investors, including Morgan Stanley and Sundaram MF. The company had priced shares for the anchor investors at Rs 230 a piece and allocated 2.83 crore shares (15 per cent of the issue size) to them, Bharti Infratel had said in a filing to the BSE.

The joint book running lead managers to the IPO are DSP Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan India, Standard Chartered Securities (India) and UBS Securities India. The issue's lead managers are Barclays Securities (India), Deutsche Equities India, Enam Securities, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company.

The co-book running lead managers to the issue are BNP Paribas, DBS Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Securities. Bharti Infratel is the first tower company to come out with an IPO. Other players in the tower business include Anil Ambani -led Reliance Infratel and Viom Networks - a joint venture between Tata Teleservices and Kolkata-based Quippo Infrastructure.