In Ahmedabad, India, on June 22, 2022, a beautician tends to a customer inside her parlor while using a day cream from the Indian skincare brand Mamaearth. Obtain Licensing Rights with REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo.

Nov. 2, BENGALURU (Reuters) – According to market data on Thursday, the initial public offering (IPO) of Indian skincare firm Mamaearth was oversubscribed by 7.6 times, with bids totaling 71.3 billion rupees ($856.75 million).

Compared to the 28.9 million shares that were available, investors bid for more than 220 million shares, with institutional investors demonstrating the greatest level of interest, according to the statistics.

Mamaearth, a company launched in 2016 by Varun Alagh, a former executive at Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS), and his wife Ghazal, reviewed its IPO plans last month and decided to lower the offer size. It delayed its initial public offering (IPO) plan in March, citing unfavorable market circumstances.

According to the prospectus, investors including the co-founders, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty are selling 41.2 million shares as part of the IPO, which consists of a fresh issue of shares valued at 3.65 billion rupees.

The company, which is listed under the name Honasa Consumer, has set a price range for each share at 308–324 rupees. The highest price paid for the investors’ shares would be 13.36 billion rupees.

September saw a 4–18-fold oversubscription for the initial public offerings (IPOs) of Sai Silks (SAIS.NS), Samhi Hotels (SAMH.NS), and R R Kabel (RRKA.NS). Similar to Mamaearth’s, the majority of the company’s and its stakeholders’ stock sales were made during these IPOs.

Mamaearth’s rivals in the Indian beauty and personal care sector are Sugar and Health & Glow. According to financial services company Avendus, which is sponsored by KKR, the market is expected to grow from $17.8 billion in 2020 to $28 billion by 2025.

For the April–June quarter, Honasa Consumer reported a consolidated net profit of 259.6 million rupees, up from a shortfall of around 93 million rupees in the same period the previous year. Its revenue increased by almost 49% throughout that time.

On Tuesday, the company will probably go public on stock exchanges.