BLS E-Services IPO Debuts At Nearly 130% Premium Over Issue Price

The shares of the firm opened at Rs 309 on the BSE on Tuesday, logging a premium of 129 per cent over the issue price, in line with analyst expectations

BLS E-Services debuted in the stock market on Tuesday at a premium of almost 130 per cent over the issue price. The firm’s shares opened at Rs 305 apiece on the NSE, marking a premium of about 126 per cent against the issue price of Rs 135. 

The shares of the firm opened at Rs 309 on the BSE on Tuesday, logging a premium of 129 per cent over the issue price, reported Moneycontrol. The debut of the company remained in line with analyst expectations, with a premium of 125-130 per cent. 

Before the debut, the firm’s shares were trading in the grey market at a premium of 114 per cent. The initial public offering worth Rs 311 crore received subscriptions of 162.47 times between January 30 - February 1, 2024. This remained the highest subscription received by IPOs in the current year.

Among the investors, the non-institutional investors (high-net-worth individuals) led the subscriptions, bidding for 300.14 times the allotted quota, followed by retail investors bidding 237 times, and qualified institutional investors subscribing for 123.3 times their quota. The IPO included a fresh issue of 2.3 crore shares set at a price band of Rs 129-135 per share. 

The firm intends to utilise the funds from the fresh issue towards strengthening the technology infrastructure to enhance the existing platforms and foster new ones. Further, the company would use Rs 74.78 crore towards funding initiatives for organic growth by establishing BLS stores and set aside Rs 28.71 crore towards acquisitions. The remaining funds would be utilised towards general corporate purposes. 

The firm reported a net profit of Rs 14.68 crore in the period ended September 2023, with a revenue of Rs 158.04 crore. The profit-after tax (PAT) margin of the company stood at 9.4 per cent in the the first half of the current fiscal year.

Unistone Capital was the book running lead manager for the fresh issue, while Kfin Technologies was the registrar. Shikhar Aggarwal, Diwakar Aggarwal, and BLS International Services are the firm’s promoters.