The IPO from Speciality Restaurants Limited better known as ‘Mainland China’ was subscribed. The company had launched its IPO in a price band of Rs 146-155. The issue was open between the 16th and 18th of May and was subscribed 2.54 times. The total issue size was 117.39 lac shares of which 17.61 lac shares were allotted to anchor investors at a price of Rs 150.
The issue received support from QIB’s particularly domestic mutual funds who subscribed to 123.13 lac shares against a total of 253.79 lac shares which were bid for. The retail portion remained undersubscribed and received bids for 22.79 lac shares against a quota of 41.09 lac shares. The retail portion was subscribed 0.55%.
The markets were weak on Friday mirroring global markets. The subscription levels as of the penultimate day were a mere 0.02%. The markets began recovering after a stellar performance from State Bank of India. The bank announced results which have bettered the most optimistic result on the street by miles. Shares of SBI which had closed at Rs 1,848 on Thursday zoomed to close at Rs 1,942, a gain of Rs 94 or 5.08%. SBI results changed the sentiment in the market and the BSESENSEX recovered from its intraday low of 15,809.71 points to close at 16,152.75 points, an intraday gain of 343.04 points and a net gain on closing basis of 82.27 points. The timing of SBI results leading to the recovery in the markets and the response to Speciality Restaurants issue seem to be interlinked.
The details of the subscription level in various categories are given below: –
| Category | Shares Offered | Shares Subscribed | Times |
| QIB | 4108795 | 19237280 | 4.68 |
| NII | 1760912 | 3863000 | 2.19 |
| Retail | 4108796 | 2279280 | 0.55 |
| Overall | 9978503 | 25379560 | 2.54 |
Anchor investors were allotted at a mid-price of the band at Rs 150. I believe that the issue is likely to get priced at Rs 150 or thereabouts as the overall response was poor but considering the market conditions it is not so bad. The issue was expensive and considering that fact, retail investors avoided the issue. The company is in the business of food and serves non-vegetarian food as well making a section of investors avoid the issue.
All in all the subscription in trying times is an achievement and one would expect that post listing in the ten day period when the share trades in trade-to-trade category it trades at par if not higher.
