Protean eGov IPO lists flat, then surges 11.5%

Protean eGov Technologies IPO, starts flat, but ends smart

Protean eGov Technologies IPO had an absolutely flat listing on 13th November 2023, listing exactly at the IPO price of ₹792 per share. However, during the trading day, the stock gradually gathered momentum and close the day almost 11.5% higher on 13th November 2023. While the closing price on 13th November 2023 at ₹883 per share was well above the IPO issue price, it was also well above the IPO listing price, considering that the stock of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd had listed exactly at the IPO price. For the day, the Nifty closed -82 points lower while the Sensex closed -325 points lower for the day. It looked like the Nifty and Sensex almost gave up all the gains that it had extracted during the one-hour Muhurat Trading late on Sunday night. Both the Nifty and the Sensex had a volatile day of trading and eventually closed the day deep in the red. The volatility in the indices had an impact on the stock price listing, although it must be said that the performance of the stock of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd was quite flattering post the listing.

IPO subscription and pricing details for Protean eGov Technologies IPO

The stock of Protean eGov Technologies IPO had seen a strong subscription in the IPO. The subscription was 23.86X  overall and QIB subscription was at 46.94X. In addition, the retail portion had got subscribed 8.93X in the IPO while the HNI / NII portion also got a healthy subscription of 31.62X. Hence the listing was expected to be fairly strong for the day. However, while the listing was flat, the post listing performance was much better than expected. Remember, the circuit filter for most mainboard IPOs is kept at 20% above and below the listing price of the day on the day of listing. In the case of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd, despite the strong subscription the weak market conditions led to price discovery exactly at the IPO issue price. However, the post listing performance was quite strong. Here is the Protean eGov Technologies Ltd listing story on 13th November 2023.

The IPO price was fixed at the upper end of the band at ₹792 per share which was anyways along expected lines considering the relatively strong subscription in the IPO. The price band for the IPO was ₹752 to ₹792 per share. On 13th November 2023, the stock of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd listed flat on the BSE at a price of ₹792 per share, which is exactly the IPO issue price of the stock. It must be noted here that Protean eGov Technologies Ltd is only listed on the BSE and not on the NSE. The reason is that Protean eGov Technologies Ltd is an arm of NSDL, which was promoted (among others) by NSE. Also, NSE Investments Ltd is one of the participants in the OFS and continues to be a shareholder of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd. Hence, extant SEBI regulations does not permit a stock to list in exchange if there is ownership by the exchange or any of its group companies. For the same reason, BSE Ltd is only listed on the NSE and even CDSL is only listed on the NSE. That is the reason Protean eGov Technologies is only listed on the BSE, with no NSE listing permitted for the stock.

How the stock of Protean eGov Technologies IPO closed on the BSE?

As stated earlier, the stock of Protean eGov Technologies is only permitted to be listed on the BSE and not on the NSE.  On the BSE, the stock closed at ₹883 per share. That represents a first day closing premium of 11.49% above the IPO issue price. Since the stock opened exactly at the IPO price, the closing price represented a gain of 11.49% over the IPO issue price as well as the IPO listing price. On the BSE, the stock listed absolutely flat but eventually managed to close Day-1 well above the IPO issue price. This is despite the aggressive selling on the exchanges overall, with the Sensex closing with losses of -326 points for the day, almost giving up the entire gains of Muhurat Trading.

Remember, that the stock of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd is subject to 20% circuit filters on both side. The upper circuit filter on the BSE was ₹950.40 per share while the lower circuit price on the BSE was ₹633.60 per share. In comparison, the high price of the day at ₹890.90 per share was much below the upper circuit price. Even the low price of the day at ₹775 per share was much above the lower circuit limits for the day. In short, the stock did traverse a fairly long distance, but the focus was largely on the upside and not so much on the downside post listing.

Price volume story on the BSE for Protean eGov Technologies IPO

Let us now turn towards the stock price performance of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 13th November 2023. On Day-1 of listing, Protean eGov Technologies Ltd touched a high of ₹890.90 per share on the BSE and a low of ₹775 per share. The premium to the IPO price sustained through most of the day, and being a flat listing, the premium on the listing price also sustained at a robust level through most of the day. While the low price of the day was just below the IPO opening price, the closing price of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd was very close to the high price of the day. Mainboard IPOs do not have an upper circuit of 5%, unlike SME IPOs since they trade in the normal equity segment and not in the trade to trade segment. However, on listing day, this IPO was subjected to the standard 20% upper and 20% lower circuit limit. On the BSE, Protean eGov Technologies Ltd trades as a B-Group stock and it is in T+1 rolling settlements normal cycle. That means, all trades done on a day will be mandatorily on the next trading day; and this applies to buy side transactions and sell side transactions.

The High Price of the day at ₹890.90 per share was well below the upper circuit price of ₹950.40 per share. Similarly, the Low Price of the day at ₹775 per share was well above the lower circuit price of ₹633.60 per share. On Day-1 of listing, the Protean eGov Technologies Ltd stock traded a total of 59.36 lakh shares on BSE amounting to value of ₹495.09 crore during the day.  The listing day volumes of Protean eGov Technologies is substantially higher than routine IPO listings, but that is because this stock is listed only on the BSE and not on the NSE. The order book during the day showed a lot of back and forth with the bias clearly in favour of the buyers through the day, with serious buying emerging towards the close of trading on Monday. The stock closed the day with pending unfulfilled buy orders on the BSE, showing the possibility of a good start to trading when the stock market trading resumes on Wednesday.

Market capitalization, free float, and delivery volumes

The volumes on the BSE were relatively strong on listing day for Protean eGov Technologies Ltd, but that is more because the stock is only listed on the BSE and not on the NSE. Hence all volumes on the stock have gravitated towards the BSE. On the BSE, out of the total 59.36 lakh shares traded during the first day of trading, the deliverable quantity represented 22.52 lakh shares or a deliverable percentage of 37.94% on the BSE, which is lower than the routine listing day median. That shows a lot of speculative action in the counter. Unlike the SME segment stocks, which are on T2T on the day of listing, the mainboard IPOs permit intraday trading even on the day of listing as they are in normal rolling settlement cycle.

At the close of Day-1 of listing, Protean eGov Technologies Ltd had a market capitalization of ₹3,571.45 crore with free-float market cap of ₹1,321.44 crore. Protean eGov Technologies Ltd has issued capital of 404.47 lakh shares with a par value of ₹10 per share.

Quick word on the Protean eGov Technologies IPO

Protean eGov Technologies Ltd, which listed on the BSE on 13th November 2023, has a face value of ₹10 per share and the price band for the IPO was ₹752 to ₹792. The final price was discovered at the upper end. The IPO of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd was entirely an offer for sale (OFS) with no fresh issue component in the IPO. The offer for sale (OFS) portion of the IPO of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd entailed the sale of 61,91,000 shares (61.91 lakh shares), which at the upper price band of ₹792 per share translates into an offer for sale (OFS) size of ₹490.33 crore. Key participants offering shares in the OFS included NSE Investments Ltd, SUUTI (UTI administrator), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Deutsche Bank, Union Bank of India and 360 One Special Opportunities Fund (part of the IIFL group). Since there is no fresh issue, the OFS of Rs490.33 crore was also the overall size of the IPO.