Allied Blenders & Distillers Soars With 13 Per Cent Premium On Market Debut

Allied Blenders IPO: Despite the positive start, the listing gains were below grey market expectations, where the shares were anticipated to trade at a 20 per cent premium

Allied Blenders IPO: Allied Blenders & Distillers made a promising debut on the stock market today, with shares listing at Rs 320, reflecting a 13.87 per cent premium over the issue price of Rs 281. Despite the positive start, the listing gains were below grey market expectations, where the shares were anticipated to trade at a 20 per cent premium.

The grey market, an unofficial trading ecosystem that operates before the official subscription period, had indicated higher premiums. Nonetheless, the company's initial public offering (IPO) garnered significant interest, with the Rs 1,500-crore public offer being subscribed 23.55 times. Investors bid for 92.71 crore equity shares against the offer size of 3.93 crore shares over the three-day subscription period.

The strong demand was driven by non-institutional investors, who subscribed 32.40 times their allotted portion. Qualified institutional buyers showed robust support, bidding 50.37 times their reserved portion, while retail investors subscribed 4.51 times their allocated shares.

Allied Blenders & Distillers, known for its Officer's Choice whisky, raised Rs 499.1 crore through its anchor book. Key investors in the anchor book included Societe Generale, Goldman Sachs, Troo Capital, BNP Paribas, 360 One Special Opportunities Fund, LIC Mutual Fund, and Jupiter India.

The Maharashtra-based liquor manufacturer plans to utilise the net fresh issue proceeds primarily for repaying debts, along with other general corporate purposes. Post-issue, the company's market capitalisation is set at Rs 7,860 crore, according to brokerage firms.

Of the Rs 720 crore proceeds from the maiden issue, a substantial portion will be directed towards debt repayment, with the overall debt on the firm’s books standing at around Rs 808 crore as of December 2023. The IPO allocation was divided, with about half set aside for qualified institutional investors, 35 per cent reserved for retail investors, and the remaining 10 per cent allocated to non-institutional investors.