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On February 19, Carlyle-backed Hexaware Technologies saw its shares climb up to 10% during their debut, reflecting increased retail interest in India's first billion-dollar IPO. The stock opened at 745.50 rupees on the National Stock Exchange, surpassing its offer price of 708 rupees, while the Nifty 50 index closed slightly lower.

By the end of the day at 762.55 rupees, the Indian IT company had a market valuation of 463.4 billion rupees ($5.34 billion). Despite expectations of a modest debut due to a single-digit premium in the grey market, the IPO of Hexaware underscored the quality of the asset and the depth of Indian capital markets, according to Amit Jain, managing director of Carlyle Group's India operations.

Institutional investors showed strong interest by bidding nine times the available shares, whereas retail investors subscribed to only a fraction of their reserved portion amid market fluctuations and caution within the IT services sector.

Arun Kejriwal of Kejriwal Research noted that many major investors were not looking to drive up Hexaware's stock price to secure profits. The IT company's return to the public market after over four years of being privately held by Baring Private Equity Asia was highlighted as significant.

Following Carlyle's sale of a 21% stake in Hexaware through the IPO, the private equity firm retained control, anticipating further growth driven by artificial intelligence. JM Financial initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating and a target price of 820 rupees, emphasizing Hexaware's strategy of targeting scalable clients with a wide range of services.

(1 USD = 86.8160 Indian rupees)