India’s digital investing platform Groww which is promoted by Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd is all set for one of the most anticipated public issues of the year as the initial public offering (IPO) moves into the allotment phase. The shares of Groww as it bids to price the ₹6632 crore issue in the upcoming week when it closed on 7 November witnessed a subscription of approximately 17.60 times with the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) category turning out to be the most aggressive at around 22.02 times followed by the Non‐Institutional Investors (NIIs) at around 14.20 times and the retail portion at around 9.43 times. However in terms of market expectations the Grey market premium (GMP) for Groww is currently trading at around ₹4 per share indicating listing gains of about 4 % above the upper price band (₹95-100) as compared to a windfall. The Allotment process Investors will see the basis of allotment being finalized on Monday 10 November with refunds to be made a day later for all unsuccessful applicants and shares being credited to demat accounts. The company’s shares will then be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Wednesday 12 November. Investors can check the status of their allotment through the registrar which is MUFG Intime India Private Ltd as well as through the stock exchanges’ portals by keying in their PAN application number or DP/Client ID. Proceeds & Company details Groww’s ₹6632.3 crore IPO is an issue of fresh equity of around ₹1060 crore by the company while the rest that is around ₹5572.3 crore is being offered by existing investors through an offer-for-sale (OFS). The Bengaluru-based fintech company has top investors including Peak XV Partners Ribbit Capital Tiger Global Management amongst others. Groww began its journey in the broking segment offering stocks and mutual funds. In the last couple of quarters the firm has added multiple adjacent segments - wealth management margin trading facilities (MTF) commodities among others as it aims to transform into a one-stop financial-services platform. Market view expectations & risks The relatively low GMP suggests that investors are not overly bullish going into listing. On the one hand the strong subscription points to investor interest in a fintech/tech company and the India retail-investing growth story. On the other the modest grey premium could signal that the market feels valuations are already at stretched levels or uncertainty is high both of which will weigh on listing gains. The consensus view among analysts is that gains will be more muted compared with some of the older IPOs which saw far higher premiums. On the other hand Investegroww has a high penetration in the still-cosmetically-penetrated digital wealth management space in India and as participation deepens & digital channels proliferate in the coming years the firm has the potential to benefit from structural tailwinds. At the same time the expansion into newer businesses (commodities margin wealth management) also introduces some execution risk and escalates competition. Key points to watch Applicants now wait for the actual allotment results & the listing performance to get a sense of market consensus. Key questions for investors to ponder now are: Will Groww be able to deliver on the scale that it promises? Will the listed valuation hold on post-debut and at what pace will the new businesses scale? For applicants the immediate focus is on more practical terms: checking allotment status and getting ready for listing gains or Plan B. In conclusion Groww’s IPO is set to be a bellwether for India’s fintech wave. The healthy subscription indicates strong demand; the modest premium on the other hand shows the market’s preference for caution. As the shares get set to hit the boards it will be interesting to see how the debut pans out and if the company can meet the expectations from its expanded vision.