Metro Brands sets IPO price band at Rs 485-500 per share

Footwear retailer Metro Brands Ltd, backed by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, on Tuesday fixed a price band of Rs 485-500 a share for its Rs 1,368-crore initial share sale.

The initial public offering (IPO) will open for public subscription on December 10 and conclude on December 14. The bidding for anchor investors will open on December 9, according to the company.

The initial share sale comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 295 crore and an offer for sale of 2.14 crore equity shares by promoters and other shareholders.

Through the IPO, the company's promoters will offload nearly 10 per cent stake. Currently, the promoters and promoter group hold an 84 per cent stake in the company.

At the upper end of the price band, the public issue is expected to fetch Rs 1,367.5 crore.

Proceeds of the fresh issue will be used towards expenditure for opening new stores under the Metro, Mochi, Walkway and Crocs brands and for general corporate purposes.

At present, the company has 598 stores in 136 cities spread across India. Of these, 211 stores were opened in the last three years.

Half of the issue size has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15 per cent for non-institutional investors and 35 per cent for retail investors.

Investors can bid for a minimum of 30 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The company is an Indian footwear retailer targeting the economy, mid and premium segments in the footwear market.

It retails footwear own-brands like Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Da Vinchi and J Fontini, as well as certain third-party brands such as Crocs, Skechers, Clarks, Florsheim and Fitflop. It also offers accessories, such as belts, bags, socks, masks and wallets at its stores.

It opened its first store under the Metro brand in Mumbai in 1955 and has since evolved into a one-stop-shop for all footwear needs by retailing a wide range of branded products for the entire family, including men, women, unisex and kids.

Axis Capital, Ambit, DAM Capital Advisors, Equirus Capital, ICICI Securities and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors are the book running lead managers to the IPO.

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