Paras Defence becomes most oversubscribed IPO in capital markets history

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Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited’s IPO saw an overwhelming response from all the category of investors. It received bids of 2,17,26,31,875 shares against the offered 71,40,793 equity shares, as per the 5:00 pm data available on the bourses. The portion reserved for the non-institutional investor category was subscribed 927.70 times and the retail investors were subscribed 112.81 times, while the qualified institutional buyer category was subscribed 169.65 times.

The issue was subscribed 304.26 times making it the most subscribed IPO in history, followed by Salasar Technologies with 273.05 times, Apollo Micro Systems was subscribed 248.5 times. Other IPOs that were made into the list of most subscribed include Astron Paper & Board Mill with 241.8 times, Mrs Bectors(198 times), Capacite Infraprojects(183 times), Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (165.7 times), and Amber Enterprises (165.4 times).

The offer was comprised of a fresh issuance of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 140.6 crores and an offer for sale of up to 17,24,490 equity shares by selling shareholders. Defence has remained a focus area for the government and Indian companies are seen as key beneficiaries of the centre’s schemes such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. While the same will benefit Paras Defence, the company’s strength lies in its R&D and relationship with diverse customers.

Global defence spending is estimated to have touched $1.98 trillion in 2020 with 2.6% YoY growth. Five largest spenders account for around 62%, including the US, China, India, Saudi Arabia and Russia. India defence expenditure has been on a constant growth trajectory, largely on account of rising conflicts & border tensions with neighbours viz. China and Pakistan in addition to cross-border terrorism threats. The contribution of defence expenditure to GDP has risen from 2.2-2.3% to ~3% over a decade. The Indian Air Force (IAF) comprises more than around 39%of the defence capital outlay followed by the Army and Navy at 27% and 25%, respectively.

Anand Rathi Advisors Limited is the book running lead manager to the offer.