Mrs Bectors Food Specialities makes strong market debut, shares zoom 106%

Mrs Bectors Food Specialities made a strong market debut on Thursday. It was listed at Rs 500, a gain of 73 per cent from its issue price. It rose further and ended the session at Rs 595 — a whopping 106 per cent above its issue price. 

Mrs Bectors posted the best listing gain in 2020 after Burger King and Happiest Minds, which gained 130 per cent and 123 per cent, respectively.

The value of promoter holdings in the firm has jumped from Rs 864 crore to Rs 1,787 crore. After the listing, it commands a market capitalisation of Rs 3,498 crore.

The IPO of Mrs Bectors garnered 198x subscription, generating bids of more than Rs 40,000 crore. For IPOs of more than Rs 200 crore in size, this was the highest-ever subscription.  Previously, only three tiny issues had garnered more than 200x subscription.

The huge oversubscription of Mrs Bectors — a biscuit and bread manufacturer — came close on heels of Burger King India’s successful debut. Eyeing similar listing gains, wealthy investors mounted bets worth Rs 33,800 crore. The so-called HNI portion saw 620x demand vis-à-vis shares on offer. 

The QIB portion was subscribed 177x, and retail category saw nearly 30x subscription. 

Because of the huge oversubscription, investors were allotted a tiny portion of what they had bid for. Retail investors got only one lot, or 50 shares, with the highest number of shares allotted for HNIs being 953. 

Analysts have a ‘hold’ rating despite the gains. 

According to experts, the firm will capitalise on growth in the packaged food industry, given its brand positioning in North India and wide distribution network.

The domestic biscuit and bakery market is expected to grow 9 per cent in the next few years thanks to urbanisation and increase in disposable income. 

The institutional Indian bakery industry is also expected to grow 20 per cent. 

“The valuation, on a long-term basis, is attractive compared to peers. If you consider the segments in which it operates, growth prospects are better. Further, the subscription was high, and a lot of demand was unmet. Institutional investors are likely to add the stock in their portfolio,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit.