The public offering of Ajax Engineering, a concrete equipment manufacturer backed by Kedaara Capital, opened for subscription from February 10 to 12.
The public issue consists entirely of an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 2.01 core shares, amounting to Rs 1,269 crore at the upper end of the price band, offered by its promoters and an investor shareholder. In this OFS, Kedaara Capital plans to sell 74.37 lakh shares.
Ahead of the issue, the company raised Rs 379.32 crore from anchor investors, with the bidding concluded on February 7, 2025.
The initial public offer of Ajax Engineering IPO has been subscribed 15% on the first day of subscription today, at 14:39 IST, as per BSE data.
The initial share sale received bids for 25,94,791 shares against 1,41,49,997 shares on offer, according to NSE.
The price band for Ajax Engineering's IPO is set between Rs 599 and Rs 629 per share. Each lot consists of 23 shares, and investors can bid for a minimum of one lot, or in multiples thereof.
Retail investors need a minimum investment of Rs 14,467 to bid for one lot, comprising 23 shares. For a maximum bid within the Rs 2,00,000 limit, retail investors can apply for up to 13 lots or 299 shares.
The portion for retail investors received 27% subscription while the quota for non-institutional investors got subscribed 30%. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) part is yet to be booked. The employee portion has been subscribed 51%.
Ajax Engineering IPO GMP
Ajax Engineering IPO was commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of Rs 31, as of February 10, 2025, 03:02 PM. With the price band set at Rs 629, the estimated listing price for the IPO is Rs 660. This suggests an expected gain of 4.93% per share on the listing day.
Ajax Engineering IPO - Should you subscribe?
Anand Rathi – Subscribe for long-term
Analysts at Anand Rathi noted that Ajax Engineering, since its inception 32 years ago, has developed a comprehensive range of concrete equipment products across the entire concrete application value chain. The company follows an asset-light model, sourcing materials from 546 suppliers, and focuses on localization, with imports constituting less than 10% of its material costs.
The analysts also highlighted that Ajax Engineering’s addressable market is growing rapidly, driven by the government’s focus on infrastructure, which is expected to benefit the company. In addition, they pointed out that the promoter group needs to offload shares over the next three years to reduce their stake to 75% or lower from the current 82% post-issue.
Despite this, the company’s niche offerings in the construction equipment sector and its robust financial performance are noteworthy. “On valuation parse, based on FY24 it is seeking PE of 32 times and post issue market cap comes at Rs 71,961 Million with the issue is reasonably priced. Therefore, given the factors like market leading in SLCM’s products, present across all the concrete application value chain and stable top and bottom lines, we recommend the issue can be considered as Subscribe for Long Term,” according to Anand Rathi Research report.
Geojit – Subscribe
Geojit Financial in its research report said that at the upper price band of Rs 629, Ajax is available at a P/E of 32x (FY24), which appears to be reasonably priced compared to its peers.
“Given its dominant market share, bright growth prospects, strong dealer network, asset-light business model, nil debt and favourable industry outlook, we recommend to subscribe on a long-term basis,” the brokerage said.
Mehta Equities – Subscribe
Rajan Shinde, research analyst at Mehta Equities believes that the company's valuations seem reasonably priced compared to the industry it serves. Investors should also consider that the IPO includes an Offer for Sale (OFS) of Rs. 1,269 crore, which accounts for 100% of the total issue. This could be a point of concern for new investors.
“Given the company’s virtual monopoly in SLCM and increasing infrastructure development in India with rising demand for automated concrete solutions, we believe Ajax is well-positioned to cater to India’s booming construction and infrastructure sector. Hence, looking at all attributes we recommend investors to “SUBSCRIBE" for Ajax Engineering Ltd IPO on a long-term basis," said Shinde.
About the company
Incorporated in 1992, Ajax Engineering Ltd. (Ajax) is a leading concrete equipment manufacturer offering a comprehensive range of concrete equipment, services & solutions across the value chain. As of Sep’24, the company has developed over 141 concrete equipment catering to the value chain. The company’s product portfolio includes Self-loading concrete mixers (SLCM), Batching plants, Transit mixers, Self-propelled boom pumps, Concrete slip-form pavers, bin batching plants and 3D concrete printers.
Ajax Engineering, co-founded by Krishnaswamy Vijay, the late Jacob John and the late Anil Kumar Singh, is engaged in the business of designing, developing and engineering innovative and high-quality concrete equipment.
