Firstcry IPO: Why was Anand Mahindra at the listing ceremony? He narrates his story...

Billionaire Anand Mahindra, the chairperson of Mahindra and Mahindra Group, attended the Brainbees initial public offering (IPO) launch event hosted by NSE on Tuesday, August 13. In his speech, the head of the group talked about his story, which gave “great pride for the entire Mahindra Group.”

“I am here because of the story behind the stake. The story is about an experiment in management. It was a lab experiment, you might say, and the experiment was about trying to understand or figure out how do large business groups incubate and build new businesses,” said Anand Mahindra.

In 2010, the Mahindra Group created Mahindra Partners to experiment with entrepreneurship. The company's mandate was to invest in “incubating companies, particularly in the new age fields” and compete with a variety of startups, said the chairperson.

Mahindra talked about how he took advice from his colleagues Zooben Bhiwandiwala and Parag Shah to isolate the mentality of startups. “The really differentiating mentality of startups is that they worship at the temple of value creation,” he said.

"They are not there necessarily to build empires. They are there to build and create value," said Mahindra.

The Chairperson talked about the firm's focus on working behind Mahindra Logistics to grow it in terms of value creation. Like Mahindra Logistics, they created Mahindra Susten in the renewable energy sector, which also became a “solid pillar” for the Mahindra Group.

The company then invested in Mum & Me, clothing and other goods businesses catering to products for newborn children; with the focus on consolidation, the company acquired Babyoye, said Mahindra.

“I have studied this man, and he is brilliant. He is an innovator, he is passionate, he focuses relentlessly on efficiency, and he has a global vision,” Zooben Bhiwandiwala told Anand Mahindra, the chairperson. He told Mahindra it was time to create value while consolidating the business. “I think we will be better off supporting him rather than fighting him,” he said.

This is why Mahindra Group merged with FirstCry and became the largest shareholder at the time, said Anand Mahindra. He also appreciated the delivery system, which attracted global attention, in turn attracting SoftBank to back the company.

The baby and kids products retailer Firstcry's parent company, Brainbees Solutions Limited, received an overwhelming response on the listing day of the initial public offering (IPO), as the stock rose nearly 46 per cent after listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, August 13.

Brainbees shares closed at ₹679.10 after Tuesday's trading session, increasing nearly 52 per cent above the offer price. The offer price for the IPO was ₹465, and the company raised close to ₹4,200 crore from the public issue.

The Brainbees public offering was launched at a time when other major public issues like Ola Electric were building their path into the market. Stock market experts expected a listing gain of 15 to 18 per cent, but the public issue exceeded market expectations.

IPO receives overwhelming response
 

The IPO received an overwhelming response from equity investors. The issue was subscribed 12.22 times overall, and it raised ₹1,900 crore from its anchor book round. The quota for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 19.30 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) subscribed 4.68 times, and the retail investors subscribed 2.31 times.

 SoftBank-backed Brainbees was added to India's $4.9 trillion stock market and the listing was SoftBank's third hit in the Indian IPO market. Brainbees' positive results came after Unicommerce eSolutions and Ola Electric, both of which made a good entry into the stock market.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw 213 initial public offering (IPO) listings in 2023-24. This accounted for nearly one IPO listing every market session in the previous financial year. There were 244 full trading sessions held in the financial year 2023-24.

“Of the 244 full trading sessions held in the last financial year, NSE witnessed the listing of 213 companies,” said Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange, in the Brainbees NSE listing event on Tuesday. “Almost one IPO is happening every trading session, which is a great testimony to India's entrepreneurial activity and the trust of investors in Indian entrepreneurs,” he said. 

Chauhan also highlighted that the listing of the Brainbees IPO would inspire many more companies to look towards the capital markets as a “promising alternative.”