IPO-bound Happiest Minds raises $43 mn from anchors

Information technology (IT) services firm Happiest Minds Technologies on Friday said it has raised a total of Rs 315.9 crore (about $43 million) from a consortium of 25 anchor investors.

The anchors scooped up a total of 1,90,30,541 shares at Rs 166 per share, including a premium of Rs 164 per share, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The investors included the government of Singapore, Goldman Sachs India Fund, Kuwait Investment Auth Fund, Nomura Funds Ireland and SBI Life Insurance.

Anchors are marquee institutional investors comprising sovereign wealth funds, mutual funds and pension funds that are invited to subscribe for a company’s shares, a day before it is listed on the public market. The instrument helps infuse market confidence to the initial public offering (IPO), given the investors’ non-retail status.

Ashok Soota-led Happiest Minds is set to open its IPO for retail investors on Monday. A total of 2,32,59,550 equity shares are up for grabs, at a price band of Rs 165 to Rs 166, from September 7 to 9.

The 2011-founded IT firm received its SEBI nod last month.

Happiest Minds works with enterprise customers to enable digital transformation services using data analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, internet of things, cloud, security, blockchain and automation.

It works with customers in industry sectors such as retail, edtech, industrial, financial services, hi-tech, engineering research and development, manufacturing, travel, media and entertainment, among others.