Nova Agritech’s shares had a strong start, debuting at a 36.5% premium over its IPO price on January 31. Opening at Rs 55 on NSE and Rs 56 on BSE, compared to the Rs 41 issue price, it slightly fell short of analysts’ expectations of a 40-70% premium.
Before going public, Nova Agritech’s shares saw a 30% premium in the grey market, a pre-IPO trading area. This market trend is often used to predict listing prices.
The IPO, attracting significant interest, was subscribed 109.37 times. High net-worth individuals led the charge, subscribing 227.19 times their share quota. Retail investors and qualified institutional buyers were also heavily involved, subscribing 77.12 and 79.31 times their respective portions.
Running from January 23 to January 25, the IPO consisted of a fresh issue of 2.73 crore shares (Rs 112 crore) and an offer-for-sale of 77.58 lakh shares (Rs 31.81 crore), with a price range of Rs 39-41 per share.
The raised funds will primarily support Nova Agri Sciences, a subsidiary, for a new formulation plant (Rs 14.20 crore), augment Nova Agritech’s capital expenditure and plant expansion (Rs 10.49 crore), meet working capital needs (Rs 26.65 crore), and further invest in Nova Agri Sciences (Rs 43.36 crore).
The company, led by promoters Suraksha Agri Retails (India), Malathi S, and Kiran Kumar Atukuri, was managed by Keynote Financial Services and Bajaj Capital as the book-running lead managers, with Bigshare Services as the registrar. Nova Agritech specializes in agricultural inputs, focusing on soil health, crop nutrition, and protection, driven by technology and farmer-centric solutions. Its subsidiary, Nova Agri Sciences, handles the production of crop protection products.
