Rs 7,288 crore IPO confusion as 10 issues available for subscription today. Which one to buy?

Investors on D-Street are facing a crowded primary market on Wednesday, September 9, with 10 IPOs available for subscription at various stages of their offerings and collectively seeking to raise Rs 7,288.34 crore. Of these, six IPOs open for subscription today, while three enter their second day of bidding. The Pranav Constructions IPO, meanwhile, enters its final day of subscription.

The six issues opening on Wednesday are Rentomojo, Asset Reconstruction Co. (India), Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions, Steamhouse India, LCC Projects and Karamtara Engineering. Together, they are looking to raise Rs 4,509.68 crore.

Rentomojo has the largest issue among the six at Rs 1,255.57 crore, followed by Karamtara Engineering at Rs 875 crore and Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions at Rs 805 crore.


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Rentomojo's issue comprises Rs 150 crore of fresh capital and Rs 1,105.57 crore through an offer for sale (OFS), with a price band of Rs 384-404 per share.

Karamtara Engineering is looking to raise Rs 875 crore, including Rs 675 crore of fresh capital and Rs 200 crore through OFS, at a price band of Rs 241-254 per share. Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions is seeking Rs 805 crore, comprising Rs 320 crore of fresh capital and Rs 485 crore through OFS. Its price band is Rs 322-339 per share.

Asset Reconstruction Company (India), or ARCIL, is targeting Rs 732.97 crore entirely through an OFS, with a price band of Rs 132-139 per share.

LCC Projects is looking to raise Rs 427.14 crore, including Rs 258 crore of fresh capital and Rs 169.14 crore through OFS, at Rs 139-146 per share.

Steamhouse India has set its issue size at Rs 414 crore, comprising Rs 353 crore of fresh capital and Rs 61 crore through OFS. Its price band is Rs 77-81 per share.

Which one to buy?

Avinash Gorakshakar, Founder at Avinash Mentor Research, said investors should assess the IPOs on three parameters: the amount of capital being deployed into the business, growth relative to valuation, and the quality of reported profit.

"Karamtara Engineering (Rs 675 crore of its Rs 875 crore is fresh), Steamhouse India (Rs 353 crore of Rs 414 crore), and LCC Projects (Rs 258 crore of Rs 427 crore) put capital to work," Gorakshakar said.

Karamtara reported 36.5% revenue growth and 64.2% profit growth in FY26. At a post-issue multiple of nearly 36 times, Gorakshakar said the company fits into the transmission and solar-structure capex cycle.

LCC Projects, meanwhile, recorded 24% revenue growth and 28% profit growth.

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Gorakshakar was more cautious on Steamhouse India.

"Steamhouse at close to 58 times earnings and 11 times book for 24 percent growth is priced for a great deal more than it has shown," he said.

On Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions, Gorakshakar said the combination of earnings, revenue growth and issue structure was the weakest among the IPOs under consideration.

"Manipal Payment is the weakest combination on the screen: profit fell to Rs 253.46 crore from Rs 282.21 crore, revenue has compounded at low single digits over three years, and the ask is about 31 times with a majority secondary structure," he said.

ARCIL is trading at roughly 11 times earnings and 1.47 times book, according to Gorakshakar. He described it as the cheapest on paper, but attributed the lower valuation to recovery-cycle earnings, evolving regulation, the absence of fresh capital and sellers exiting.

On Rentomojo, Gorakshakar said its 142% profit jump on 45.5% revenue growth means margins roughly doubled in a year. He said this needs to be reconciled with the RHP for one-offs before its multiple can be assessed. He also noted that the company has no listed peer.

Gorakshakar identified Steamhouse India and Karamtara Engineering as the two IPOs offering the best investment prospects among the 10 issues.

"Steamhouse is a pioneer in the 'community boiler' system in India, providing centralized pipeline distribution of steam and industrial gases. This unique business model creates high customer stickiness and strong entry barriers," he said.

On Karamtara Engineering, he said, "Operating in the heavy engineering and power transmission tower space, Karamtara benefits directly from massive domestic and global capital expenditure cycles toward electrical grid modernization and renewable energy evacuation infrastructure."

3 IPOs enter second day, one closes today

Kanohar Electricals, Prasol Chemicals and Glass Wall Systems (India) enter their second day of subscription on Wednesday. Collectively, the three companies are seeking to raise Rs 1,983.63 crore.

Kanohar Electricals has an issue size of Rs 1,055.74 crore, with Rs 300 crore of fresh capital and Rs 755.74 crore through OFS. Its price band is Rs 601-632 per share.

Prasol Chemicals is looking to raise Rs 500 crore, comprising Rs 80 crore of fresh capital and Rs 420 crore through OFS, at a price band of Rs 643-676 per share.

Glass Wall Systems (India) is seeking Rs 427.89 crore, including Rs 60 crore of fresh capital and Rs 367.89 crore through OFS. Its price band is Rs 172-182 per share.

Meanwhile, Pranav Constructions, which opened on September 7, closes on Wednesday. The company is seeking to raise Rs 351.03 crore, comprising Rs 315.6 crore of fresh capital and Rs 35.43 crore through OFS. The issue price is Rs 124 per share.

Gorakshakar said Pranav Constructions was already several times subscribed, adding that "the market has voted there."

Could the crowded IPO slate lead to weak subscription?

Gorakshakar expects the crowded primary-market calendar to put pressure on subscription levels for some issues.

"When too many companies rush to tap the market at the same time, it creates strong pressure leading to softer listings," he said.

He added that retail and institutional investors have limited capital and that when multiple issues compete for funds simultaneously, institutional investors are forced to be selective.

"Institutional and well-informed retail investors become highly selective, heavily favoring companies with solid balance sheets, clear earnings growth, and reasonable valuations," Gorakshakar said.

He also pointed to the possibility of weaker grey market premiums for average issues as demand gets divided. Slower institutional uptake during the first or second day of bidding could also make retail investors more cautious, he said.

"A crowded calendar does not weaken any issue; it removes the surplus liquidity that let weak issues look strong," Gorakshakar said.

This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment.