Tue Nov 19 13:08:12 UTC 2024: ## NTPC Green Energy IPO Opens to Tepid Response on Day 1

**Mumbai, November 19, 2024** – The much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, opened for subscription today with a lukewarm reception. By the close of trading, the IPO had been subscribed only 0.33 times, indicating a slow start to the three-day offering period.

NGEL is aiming to raise ₹10,000 crore (approximately $1.2 billion USD) through the sale of approximately 92.59 crore shares, priced between ₹102 and ₹108 per share. The IPO’s lot size is set at 138 shares. While the retail investor portion saw relatively stronger interest (1.33 times subscribed), subscriptions from Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) were nil, and Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) showed limited participation (0.16 times subscribed). Employee and shareholder reservations were also under subscribed at 0.17 and 0.57 times, respectively.

Despite the sluggish initial response, the company had a successful pre-IPO anchor investor round, raising ₹3,960 crore. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was the largest anchor investor, contributing ₹500 crore. Other notable anchor investors included several prominent domestic and international mutual funds and sovereign wealth funds like the Government of Singapore.

NGEL plans to utilize ₹7,500 crore of the net proceeds to repay debt incurred by its subsidiary, NTPC Renewable Energy, with the remaining funds allocated to general corporate purposes and debt prepayment. The IPO is scheduled to close on November 22, 2024, with listing expected on November 27, 2024. KFin Technologies is the registrar, and several leading investment banks are acting as book-running lead managers.

Analyst opinions on the IPO are divided. While some analysts highlight the company’s long-term growth potential in India’s burgeoning renewable energy sector and its strong parentage, others express concerns about its valuation and relatively low capacity utilization factor compared to competitors. The IPO’s performance over the remaining subscription days will be crucial in determining its overall success.

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