New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) The initial public offer (IPO) of specialty chemicals manufacturing firm Rossari Biotech was subscribed a whopping 79.37 times on the last day of bidding on Wednesday.

The Rs 496-crore IPO received bids for 64,87,33,645 shares against the total issue size of 81,73,530 shares, according to data available with the NSE.

Also Read | After Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis Calls Out Their Oscar-Nominated Movie The Help, Says 'Part of Me Feels Like I Betrayed My People'.

The category reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 85.26 times, non-institutional investors 239.83 times, while retail portion was subscribed 7.23 times, according to merchant banking sources.

The price range for the offer was fixed at Rs 423-425 per share.

Also Read | Samsung Galaxy M31s Smartphone Likely to Be Launched in India This Month.

"There was a huge pent up demand for a primary offering as none had come in the last four months. This was a fresh company from a sector which already enjoys premium valuations and this company in particular had the added flavour of personal health and hygiene attached to it," market analyst Arun Kejriwal said.

"Sanitizers in COVID-19 became the icing on the cake and the subscription is testimony to the market response," he added.

The company had raised Rs 149 crore from anchor investors.

Rossari Biotech's initial share-sale ended four months of inactivity in the IPO market. SBI Cards & Payment Services was the last company to float an IPO in March.

Net proceeds from the issue will be utilised for funding working capital requirements, repaying certain debt availed by the company and for general corporate purposes.

The equity shares will be listed on both NSE and BSE.

The company, which filed its draft papers with Sebi in December 2019, received clearance from the regulator in February to launch the IPO.

Rossari Biotech is a specialty chemicals manufacturing firm with focus on home and personal care, performance chemicals, textile specialty chemicals and animal health and nutrition products.

The offer was managed by Axis Capital and ICICI Securities.

Neogen Chemicals was the last specialty chemicals IPO to come to market in April 2019.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)