HDB Financial IPO Day 3: Issue Subscribed Nearly 17x; QIBs, NIIs Lead Charge

Today marks the final day for investors to place their bids in the public offering of HDB Financial Services, which opened for subscription on June 25. The non-banking lending subsidiary of HDFC Bank had opened its ₹12,500 crore IPO, the largest of 2025 so far, was subscribed nearly 17 times.

The strong subscription was largely driven by strong demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), non-institutional investors (NIIs), employees, and existing shareholders of HDFC Bank.

The momentum towards in subscription numbers picked up pace after Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), who had stayed relatively quiet on the opening day, began actively placing their bids. As it stands, the QIB portion is subscribed 55.5 times, the highest amongst all categories.

The non-institutional investor (NII) segment came a far second, with bids of around 10 times the available portion, while the shareholder and employee quotas were bid 4.25 and 5.7 times, respectively.

However, retail investors gave the most lukewarm response to the offer, subscribing the portion set aside just 1.4 times.

Side-by-side, shares of HDB Financial Services were trading at a premium of Rs 60 in the grey market, implying a premium of 8% over the upper range of its price band of Rs 700-740. The grey market premium for HDB has largely hovered around this range since it witnessed a drawdown after the price band announcement.

Not long ago, HDB Financial Services was commanding a steep premium in the unlisted space, with its shares exchanging hands for as much as ₹1,200–1,350 apiece. That translated to a 70–80% jump over the IPO’s upper price band. But a lot has changed since.

The grey market premium has shrunk considerably, now hovering around 8-10%. This suggested easing investor sentiment as those bought shares in the unlisted market are left staring at losses as the heavily discounted IPO price band had soured sentiment.

Still, the shift in grey market sentiment hasn’t changed the view that analysts hold. The consensus of analysts consider the IPO pricing at ₹740 per share to be well-balanced, neither too aggressive, nor undervalued. When viewed against listed NBFCs like Bajaj Finance or Shriram Finance, HDB’s valuation appears measured. At 3.72 times its FY24 book value, the pricing aligns more closely with listed sector benchmarks than the speculative rates floating earlier in the unlisted trade.

DRChoksey FinServ’s Ishank Gupta called the issue “attractively placed”, highlighting the company’s strong promoter backing, solid peer-group metrics like return on assets, and long-term growth headroom.

Sharekhan, too, remains upbeat as it pointed out that HDB remains much smaller than its heavyweight peer Bajaj Finance, leaving it ample runway to grow. “Given the parentage, supportive macro indicators, and sectoral tailwinds, we expect a healthy debut and continue to see value over the medium to long term,” the brokerage said.