CARE to raise up to $99 mln in IPO amid strong demand

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) has received bids for more than 40 times the number of shares on offer in a stock market debut set to raise up to $99 million.

The positive response to the initial public offering (IPO) of the credit rating services provider augurs well for a clutch of bigger share sales scheduled for this week as firms, which were forced to shelve plans earlier this year due to volatile markets, rush to raise funds.

The government's sale of a $1.1 billion stake in miner NMDC Ltd is set for Wednesday, while telecoms tower operator Bharti Infratel is selling shares to raise up to $830 million in the country's biggest IPO in two years.

Bharti Infratel, a unit of top Indian phone carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd , saw demand for 15 percent of its stock on offer on the first day of the public offering, stock exchange data showed. The issue closes on Friday.

CARE received more than 250 million bids against 6.1 million shares it was selling in an offering that was launched on December 7 and ended on Tuesday, stock exchange data showed.

It earlier agreed to allocate about 1.1 million shares to a group of cornerstone investors, including units of Goldman Sachs and Franklin Templeton, at 750 rupees a share in a pre-IPO sale.

The company was selling shares in the indicative price range of 700 rupees to 750 rupees a share.

The strong demand means CARE will price the IPO at the top end, said two sources with direct knowledge of the deal, declining to be named ahead of a decision on the listing price.

The company is set to raise $99.4 million at the top end of the indicative price range.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and India's Kotak Investment Banking, Edelweiss, ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital and SBI Capital Markets are the bookrunners for the CARE IPO, according to its prospectus.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/care-raise-99-mln-ipo-amid-strong-demand-141218279--sector.html

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