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Buoyed by good response for its Rs 4,500 crore Bharti Infratel IPO, Bharti Group chief Sunil Mittal has said it is a strong endorsement from qualified investors.

Buoyed by good response for its Rs 4,500 crore Bharti Infratel IPO, Bharti Group chief Sunil Mittal has said it is a strong endorsement from qualified investors. “I am very happy with this IPO being subscribed a day ahead of closure. Its a strong endorsement from qualified investors. Which we were hoping (for),” Bharti Enterprises Chairman and Group CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal told reporters in an Indiamart event.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Bharti Infratel was fully-subscribed a day ahead of its closure. The IPO, tipped as the second biggest public issue in the last two years, attracted bids for over 19.42 crore shares – of the 18.89 crore equity shares offered in the main book building process — translating to 1.21 times subscription till 1700 hours yesterday, as per stock exchange data. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) book, which closed yesterday, got over-subscribed 2 times, while shares reserved for retail investors got 3 per cent subscription.

When asked if the investor sentiment is back, Mittal said, “Over (Rs) 4,000 crore IPO is back… I think the market is open for business now.” The issue, which is in the price band of Rs 210-240 a share, closes today for retail investors. At the upper end of the price band, Bharti Infratel would raise about Rs 4,533.60 crore, while at the lower end it could end up with Rs 3,966.90 crore. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange.

The company has said the proceeds from the IPO will be used to fund its expansion and future acquisitions. Bharti Infratel on Monday received Rs 651.7 crore from 18 anchor investors, including Morgan Stanley and Sundaram MF. The company had priced shares for the anchor investors at Rs 230 a piece, and allocated 2.83 crore shares (15 per cent of the issue size) to them, Bharti Infratel had said in a filing to the BSE. On a query about public offer of Indus Towers, Mittal said, “As I said the doors have opened”.

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