Diagnostics chain Dr Lal PathLabs Ltd and drugmaker Alkem Laboratories Ltd made a spectacular stock market debut on Wednesday with their shares closing substantially higher than their issue price.
Shares of Dr Lal PathLabs listed at Rs 717 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange and touched a peak of Rs 842.40. The shares closed at Rs 824.15, up 50 per cent from the issue price of Rs 550, giving the company a market value of Rs 6,811.17 crore.
Alkem shares opened at Rs 1,380 apiece on the BSE and hit a high of Rs 1,410. The shares closed at Rs 1,381.45, 31 per cent higher than the issue price of Rs 1,050, giving the company a market capitalisation of Rs 16,517.31 crore.
The benchmark Sensex gained 1 per cent while the healthcare index rose 1.4 per cent on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the initial public offering of Alkem was by investors.
Alkem, established in 1973, claims to be the top player in the domestic market for anti-infectives and has a strong position in gastro-intestinal and analgesic segments.
The IPO of Dr Lal PathLabs was oversubscribed 32 times. The company is backed by private equity firms WestBridge Capital Partners and TA Associates.
India's IPO market rebounded strongly this year and a string of healthcare firms have floated or filed for public issues.
Early this year, shares of Biocon Ltd's contract research and manufacturing subsidiary, Syngene International Ltd, were listed at a premium of 18 per cent to their issue price of Rs 250. The company's shares have risen over 30 per cent since the listing in August.
Hospital chain operator Narayana Hrudayalaya Pvt Ltd also floated an IPO this month. The IPO was oversubscribed more than seven times.
The buzz around public floatation is likely to continue next year with Bangalore-based HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd set to launch its IPO in January.
