Molbio Diagnostics raises ₹281 cr from anchor investors ahead of IPO

Molbio Diagnostics’ IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹200 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 91.66 lakh equity shares by existing shareholders.

Point-of-care diagnostics company Molbio Diagnostics Ltd, backed by Temasek and Motilal Oswal Private Equity, raised ₹281.5 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).

The company allotted 34.88 lakh equity shares to 33 anchor investors at ₹807 apiece, the upper end of the price band, according to a circular uploaded on the BSE website late night on Friday.

Domestic mutual funds received 23.54 lakh shares, accounting for 67.51 per cent of the anchor book through 19 schemes of nine fund houses.

The IPO, with a price band of ₹768-807 per share, will open for public subscription on August 10 and conclude on August 12. The initial share sale is estimated at ₹904 crore to ₹940 crore at the lower and upper ends of the price band, respectively.

The Goa-based company's IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹200 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 91.66 lakh equity shares by existing shareholders.

The company proposes to utilise ₹106 crore from the fresh issue proceeds towards capital expenditure for setting up infrastructure for an R&D facility, Centre of Excellence and connected office space.

Another ₹72 crore will be deployed towards the purchase of plant, machinery and other equipment for its Goa Unit I, Goa Unit II and Visakhapatnam unit, while the remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes.

At the upper end of the price band, Molbio Diagnostics is expected to command a post-issue market valuation of around ₹9,300 crore.

Incorporated in 2000, Molbio Diagnostics is a point-of-care diagnostics company offering molecular testing for 30 diseases, including tuberculosis, COVID, HIV, HPV and Hepatitis B and C.

Its 'Truenat' platform, patented in more than 100 countries for diagnosis of multiple infectious and non-communicable diseases, is a point-of-care polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform. The battery-operated platform can be deployed in resource-limited settings and facilitates decentralised diagnosis within an hour.

The company has six manufacturing facilities in India -- two in Goa, two in Bengaluru, and one each in Visakhapatnam and Pune.