In the midst of notable market volatility, Mamaearth, a D2C unicorn, witnessed oversubscription of its employee allocation in the initial public offering (IPO) within the opening hours of trading on October 31st.
As per BSE data, out of the 34,013 shares allocated for employees, bids were made for 56,166 shares by 2 PM IST, resulting in a 1.65X oversubscription.
However, during the initial hours of the offer’s first day, the overall demand for the IPO stayed subdued.
Retail investors submitted bids for 1.325 million shares, a fraction of the 5.248 million shares allocated to them, whereas non-institutional investors’ participation was minimal at 0.01X subscription, with bids covering only 107,000 shares.
Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) did not submit any bids. Up until 2 PM IST on the first day, the overall subscription for the IPO was merely at 0.05X.
The initial public offering (IPO) for the D2C beauty and personal care unicorn is scheduled to conclude on November 2. Mamaearth has set the IPO price band at INR 308-INR 324 and is targeting a valuation of about $1.2 billion through the offering.
Read More: Mamaearth IPO to open on October 31, price band announced at INR 308 to INR 324 per share
On Monday, Mamaearth secured a total of INR 765.2 Crore from anchor investors through the allocation of 2.36 Crore equity shares.
Read More: Honasa’s Mamaearth IPO attracts INR 765.2 Crore from anchor investors ahead of IPO launch
The startup’s IPO includes a fresh issuance of equity shares, amounting to INR 365 Crore, and a 4.12 Crore shares offer for sale (OFS) component.
Founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo of Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Mamaearth’s parent company Honasa also includes brands like Aqualogica, The Derma Co., and Ayuga, while acquiring stakes in BBlunt and Dr. Sheths.
While the outcome of Mamaearth’s IPO remains uncertain, especially in the near term, it has the potential to set a significant and defining trend for all unicorn IPOs.