The initial public offer (IPO) of engineering, procurement and construction player A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services (A2Z) ended on Friday, 10 December 2010, with 96% subscription. The IPO garnered bids for 1.76 crore shares compared with 1.82 crore shares on offer. The price band for the IPO was Rs 400 to Rs 410 per share.

The issue received weak response from the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category, which was subscribed just 0.68%. QIBs bid for 51.33 lakh shares, compared with 75.27 lakhs shares reserved for the category.

However, the issue received a good response from non-institutional investors. The non-institutional investors category, made up of corporates and high net worth investors, was subscribed 3.12 times. But the retail investors category was undersubscribed with just 33% bids.

The company, on 7 December 2010, raised Rs 125.51 crore by selling 31.37 lakh shares at Rs 400 per share to seven anchor investors.

A2Z will use the proceeds of the IPO for the upcoming biomass-based power plants, to partly repay a loan and for general corporate purposes. Ratings firm CARE has assigned IPO grade 4 to the company IPO indicating above average fundamentals.

A2Z is in the business of installation of power distribution lines and sub-stations.

Apart from the EPC/engineering services business, the company is significantly involved in generating power from renewable energy sources. It also provides municipal solid waste (MSW) management services. The company is also into developing information technology solutions for power utilities.