PhysicsWallah IPO subscription remains lukewarm on day two

The initial public offering (IPO) of edtech firm PhysicsWallah (PW) continued to see a subdued response on the second day of bidding, with cumulative subscription reaching only 13% by the close of trade on Wednesday, November 12.

According to data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange, investors placed bids for around 2.38 crore shares against the 18.62 crore shares on offer. 

The muted figures suggest that investor sentiment remains cautious despite the company’s strong brand visibility and rapid growth in the edtech space.

The retail investor category showed the most notable participation, with bids for 1.97 crore shares against the 3.37 crore shares reserved for them, translating into a subscription of 58%. 

The non-institutional investor (NII) segment, which includes high net worth individuals, saw a mild improvement with subscriptions of 0.06 times (6%), or 28.02 lakh shares against the 5.05 crore shares available.

However, interest from qualified institutional buyers remained virtually absent for the second consecutive day, with just 6,302 shares bid for out of a quota exceeding 10.11 crore shares. Institutional participation is widely regarded as a key indicator of market confidence, and the continued lack of demand from this category is likely to weigh on overall subscription momentum as the issue approaches its final day.

The employee reserved category continued to show comparatively strong enthusiasm, being subscribed 1.77 times with applications for 13.32 lakh shares against 7.52 lakh shares available. This suggests confidence among insiders and staff, even as external investors remain slow to subscribe.

The day two figures marked only a modest improvement over the first day of bidding, when the issue was subscribed 7% overall. On Tuesday, bids totalled around 1.31 crore shares, largely driven by retail investors, while institutional and NII participation was negligible.

PhysicsWallah is seeking to raise approximately Rs 3,480 crore through the IPO, consisting of a fresh issue worth Rs 3,100 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 380 crore by co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari. 

The price band has been fixed at Rs 103 to Rs 109 per share, valuing the company at over Rs 31,500 crore at the upper end. The shares are scheduled to list on the stock exchange on November 18.

A day before the offer opened, the company raised Rs 1,563 crore through the anchor investor segment, allocating 14.34 crore shares at Rs 109 per share. More than half of this allocation was taken up by domestic mutual funds, indicating early institutional confidence at that stage. However, this has not yet translated into sustained demand in the public issue itself.

Industry experts pointed out that the tepid subscription reflects broader caution towards the edtech sector, which has been undergoing a post-pandemic correction.

In the grey market, the IPO is quoting at a premium of about Rs 1.5 – Rs 2 per share.

Founded in 2016 by Pandey as a YouTube-based learning channel, PW has grown into a large-scale education platform with a mix of digital courses, physical learning centres, and hybrid programmes. Its core audience remains students in Tier II and Tier III cities preparing for engineering, medical, and government entrance exams.

With one day of bidding left, all eyes are now on whether institutional investors step in on the final day to improve the overall subscription tally. Unless there is a significant surge in demand from QIBs and NIIs, the IPO may close with limited oversubscription, reflecting the market’s cautious stance toward high-growth but profit-constrained edtech ventures, industry experts noted.

It is common for public issues to see most of their bidding activity concentrated on the last day of the subscription window. Investors often observe early subscription trends, market movement and any analyst commentary before placing final bids.