ICICI, DLF Floats Likely To Eclipse Small Issues

Small companies which are looking at tapping the capital market in the next three months are likely to face the heat from mega share issuances of DLF and ICICI Bank. According to the market sources, the sentiment for smaller issues was already weak, especially with a majority of the recent listings trading at a discount to the offer price. DLF and ICICI are expected to mop up around Rs 27,000 crore from the market , which is likely to lessen investors'' appetite for smaller issues. Of 53 companies filing their prospectus for IPOs this calendar year, 12 issues, including two rights issues, have been withdrawn owing to lacklustre investor demand. Hal Offshore, Rap Media, Asiatic Colour Chem, Saamya Biotech, MSPL, Apollo Sindhoori (rights issue), Victoria Enterprises (rights issue), Gammon Infrastructure, STE Salit, SRS Entertainment, Embross Auto Comp and Decolight Carriers have withdrawn their issues. With the exception of a small number of quality issues such as MindTree Consulting, Global Broadcast News, ICRA, FirstSource, PFC, Advanta, Page Industries, most recent offers are trading at a discount ranging from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.