The initial public offering of JSW Cement is drawing attention across the market as the second day of bidding saw the issue get subscribed 56 percent. With growing interest from retail and non-institutional investors, the offer is expected to gain more traction before it closes on August 11. This marks a significant step for the 17-year-old company as it aims to become a major player in the Indian cement sector.
Retail investors showed strong enthusiasm, subscribing to 72 percent of their allotted share, while the non-institutional investor category reached 62 percent. The Qualified Institutional Buyers segment remained more conservative at 24 percent, though that number is expected to improve closer to the closing date. According to data from the National Stock Exchange, bids were received for over 10 crore shares against a total offering of nearly 18.13 crore shares.
JSW Cement has set the price band between Rs 139 and Rs 147 per share. At the upper end, this values the company at approximately Rs 20,000 crore. The company also raised Rs 1,080 crore from anchor investors a day before the issue opened, signaling strong early institutional confidence.
The IPO includes a fresh issue of Rs 1,600 crore, and an Offer for Sale worth Rs 2,000 crore from existing shareholders. Among the top sellers in this segment are private equity firm Apollo Management through its entity AP Asia Opportunistic Holdings Pte Ltd, along with Synergy Metals Investments Holding Ltd and the State Bank of India. Synergy Metals is a private equity fund founded in 2015 by Sudhir Maheshwari, a former executive at ArcelorMittal.
Proceeds from the fresh issue are earmarked for key expansion plans. The company will allocate Rs 800 crore to develop a new integrated cement plant in Nagaur, Rajasthan. Another Rs 520 crore is intended to help with debt repayment, and the remaining funds will go toward general corporate needs. These investments are part of a broader strategy to expand JSW Cement’s manufacturing footprint and strengthen its presence in India's infrastructure and construction ecosystem.
The IPO is being managed by an impressive consortium of financial institutions including JM Financial, Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, DAM Capital Advisors, Goldman Sachs India, Jefferies India, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and SBI Capital Markets.
With two more days remaining in the bidding process, market watchers are keenly observing how the institutional participation picks up and how the final subscription levels reflect broader investor confidence. For everyday investors, this IPO presents an opportunity to invest in one of the country’s ambitious cement manufacturers that is betting big on capacity growth and market share.
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