Muted Debut for Protean eGov Technologies Shares

Protean eGov Technologies, formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure, made a muted stock market listing on Monday, with its shares debuting at a price of Rs.792 per share on the BSE, on par with its issue price despite heavy IPO subscriptions. However, after listing, the stock gained momentum and surged to Rs.823, a 4% hike from the issue price. At 10:06 AM, the share was trading at Rs.818, a 3% increase from the listing price.

The company”s initial public offering (IPO) had generated a strong response among investors, registering a nearly 24-fold oversubscription. Institutional investors subscribed 47 times more than their quota, while high net-worth individuals subscribed 32 times and the retail portion closed nearly 9 times oversubscribed.

At Rs.792 per share, Protean eGov made a disappointing debut, as it was expected to be listed at a 8-10% premium given the strong subscriptions and the company”s financial status. Prashanth Tapse, research analyst, senior VP research at Mehta Equities, had envisioned a listing at a 10% premium, while Dhruv Mudaraddi, research analyst at StoxBox, predicted a listing at 8-9%, according to CNBC TV18.

Protean eGov Technologies, formerly known as NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure, provides citizen-centric and population-scale e-governance solutions. The company is one of the significant e-governance solution companies in India, having operated in collaboration with the government.

In the June 2023 quarter, the company made a profit of Rs.32.21 crore and a revenue of Rs.233.17 crore.