November 28: The cut-off price of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the shares of Sarvottam Cement, which sold shares through the book building process for the first time in Nepal, has been fixed at Rs 401 per unit. Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) opened the confidential sealed bids received from eligible institutional investors on the morning of November 27 and fixed the cut-off price at Rs 401.

Information officer of NEPSE, Murahari Parajuli, informed that the cut-off price is set so that all the issued shares will be distributed to eligible institutional investors. He informed that after determining the cut-off price, all the applicants who bid an equivalent amount or more than the cut-off price will be allotted the shares as per the demand.

Sarvottam Cement sold 2.4 million shares to eligible institutional investors in the first phase from November 22 to 26. Although the bid was submitted with a maximum price of 406 rupees, the cut-off price was maintained at 401.

According to NEPSE, Kumari Capital and two schemes under it, Kumari Equity Fund and Kumari Dhanbriddhi Yojana submitted the highest bid at the price of Rs 406 per share. NEPSE informed that Kumari Capital applied for 5,000 shares, Kumari Equity Fund operated under Kumari Capital applied for 15,000 shares and Kumari Dhanbriddhi Yojana applied for 20,000 shares. According to NEPSE, Citizen Investment Fund submitted a bid for the purchase of 400,000 shares at a price of Rs 405 per share. Apart from these, other applicants submitted bids of Rs 401 per share.

According to NEPSE, 41 institutional investors submitted secret sealed bids for the purchase of a total of 3,619,190 shares of Sarvottam Cement. The eligible institutional investors applied through confidential sealed bids in the absence of an online system at present.

If the investors who apply at the cut-off price are unable to get the shares as per their demand, there is a provision to distribute them proportionately. NEPSE has implemented the same system for the allocation of shares.

Sarvottam Cement had sought permission from the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) to sell 6 million units of shares, which would be 12.9033 percent of the issued capital of Rs 4.65 billion of the company.

The company received approval from the board to sell 2.4 million units of shares to institutional investors who will own 40 percent of the shares. After selling the IPO to qualified institutional investors, the company will issue 60 percent shares to the general public.