Quess Corp IPO a huge hit; most oversubscribed in 9 years

The Rs 400-crore initial public offer of staffing firm Quess Corp has been oversubscribed by a staggering 145 times at the end of the three-day bidding on Friday, emerging as the most oversubscribed IPO in the last 9 years.

The IPO received bids for 1,02,43,65,600 shares as against the total issue size of 70,96,774 shares, reflecting 144.34 times oversubscription, data available with the NSE till 1900 hours showed.

The offer has generated demand worth over Rs 31,000 crore, excluding the anchor portion worth Rs 180 crore that was already allocated to investors.

The portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was oversubscribed 59 times while non-institutional investors category received a whopping over 392 times subscription, sources said.

Retail investors segment was also oversubscribed 33 times, they added. Besides, Quess Corp has already raised Rs 180 crore from anchor investors.

Promoted by Ajit Isaac and Thomas Cook (India), Quess Corp's IPO has a price band of Rs 310?317 per equity share, having a face value of Rs 10 each.

The IPO, which had opened for subscription on Wednesday, comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating Rs 400 crore. Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, IIFL Holdings and YES Securities (India) are managing the offer.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company plans to use the proceeds towards incremental working capital, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, debt repayment and other general corporate purposes.

Set up in 2007, Quess Corp offers comprehensive solutions including recruitment, temporary staffing, technology staffing as well as IT products and solutions.

Earlier this year, IPO of diagnostics company Thyrocare Technologies was oversubscribed 73.46 times while staffing firm TeamLease Services' offer was oversubscribed 66 times.