Lahore (NUT-DESK)
Octopus Digital Initial Public Offer (IPO) received the highest number of bids in the history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange during the book-building process of the technology stock. The stock’s strike price has been set at its ceiling – Rs40.6 a share.
The tech firm was initially looking to raise a minimum Rs793million by offering 27.4 million shares at a minimum price of Rs29 per share in the IPO. But it will now raise Rs1.1 billion from the IPO after securing the highest maximum price for its stock.
Book-building was oversubscribed 27.3 times, resulting in successful bidders receiving only 2.75% of the shares they had originally bid. It means that if a person had bid for 25,000 shares, he or she will receive only 668 shares.
“The IPO received a great response,” said senior research analyst Adnan Sami Sheikh. “It was two times (over)subscribed in the first 30 minutes,” he said.
He added that this is highest response a company had ever received in the PSX’s history.
Sheikh, who is the AVP of research at Pak Kuwait Investments, said that Octopus would reap huge synergies given their longstanding history in the sector.
Octopus Digital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avanceon Ltd. The company plans to develop 29 independent intellectual properties under different categories from which the company will be providing two main offerings – Topware and Omni Connect.
“Avanceon has been providing industrial automation solutions for over 30 years. So, they have 30 years of experience in the market and 30 years of client rights,” said Sheikh.
The book-building was held on September 9 and 10. The price was decided with institutions and high net worth individuals bidding via the Dutch auction method. The general public will be able to buy the company’s shares on September 16 and 17 at a price of Rs40.6.
