Rubicon Research shares make stellar debut, list at 28% premium over issue price

Shares of Rubicon Research made their Dalal Street debut on Thursday, October 16. The stock listed at a 28% premium, debuting at ₹620.10 on the BSE and ₹620 on the NSE, against its issue price of ₹485.

The listing was largely in line with grey market trends, where the premium had stood at 31%.

The ₹1,377.5-crore IPO of Rubicon Research received a stellar response, being subscribed 104 times and attracting more than 31.42 lakh applications with bids worth over ₹82,900 crore.

The issue, open for bidding between October 9 and 13, was priced in the range of ₹461-485 per share, with a lot size of 30 shares.

Ahead of the opening, the company raised ₹619 crore from anchor investors, including Goldman Sachs, HDFC Mutual Fund, Fidelity Funds, ICICI Prudential MF, Kotak Mahindra MF, Amansa Holdings, and Aranda Investments Pte.

The IPO comprised a fresh issue of ₹500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of ₹877.5 crore by promoter General Atlantic Singapore RR Pte Ltd, whose stake will fall to about 35% post-listing. Proceeds from the fresh issue, amounting to ₹310 crore, will go towards debt repayment, inorganic growth opportunities, and general corporate purposes.

Rubicon Research earlier said that Kotak Mutual Fund and Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund together invested ₹169 crore in the company. As part of this, General Atlantic transferred 34.86 lakh shares (2.25% stake) at ₹484.47 per share. In separate earlier deals, it sold 28.89 lakh shares (1.86%) for ₹140 crore to TIMF Holdings and 360 ONE, and 51.6 lakh shares (3.3%) to Amansa Investments for ₹250 crore at the same price.

Other promoters of the company include Pratibha Pilgaonkar, Sudhir D Pilgaonkar, Parag S Sancheti, Surabhi P Sancheti, and Sumant S Pilgaonkar.

Rubicon Research is a pharmaceutical formulations company with a strong focus on R&D and innovation, offering a growing portfolio of specialty products and drug-device combinations for regulated markets, particularly the United States.

The company has also been expanding its manufacturing base. In June, it acquired Alkem Laboratories’ formulations facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, in an all-cash deal worth ₹149 crore.

Rubicon currently operates two USFDA-inspected R&D facilities, one in India and one in Canada, along with two manufacturing plants in India accredited by multiple regulatory authorities, including USFDA, Maharashtra FDA (WHO-GMP), and Health Canada.