India’s Vishal Mega Mart’s initial public offering (IPO) generated strong investor interest, with bids reaching US$19 billion.
Reuters reports the move comes amid a surge in public offerings in the country, with more than 300 businesses raising $17.5 billion this year, more than double the amount raised during the same period in 2023.
Investors bid for 20.6 billion shares during the three-day process, far exceeding the 756.8 million shares offered by existing shareholder Samayat Services.
Meanwhile, institutional buyers, including foreign institutions and mutual funds, oversubscribed their reserved portion by 81 times, while retail investors subscribed to 2.3 times their portion of the offering.
The company allocated shares worth approximately $283 million to anchor investors, including the Singapore government and funds from JP Morgan and HSBC.
However, the company did not issue new shares in the $943 million IPO.
Vishal Mega Mart is known for offering groceries, and affordable clothing starting at 99 rupees (approximately $1). It competes in India’s $600 billion grocery and supermarket sector alongside major players, including Reliance Retail, DMart, and Tata Group’s Star Bazaar.
