New Delhi, April 2: Mid-Day Multimedia, on April 2, became the first company in the country to be listed on a stock exchange when its shares made their debut on the Mumbai stock exchange. The scrip opened at Rs 55, a discount of Rs 15 on its issue price of Rs 70 (in the fixed price portion).After an action-packed public issue marked by controversies, the debut turned out to be an anticlimax, thanks to the `Ketan Parekh effect' which has taken the winds out of the Indian bourses. On a day marked by lacklustre trading when the total turnover on BSE was only Rs 936.66 crore, the scrip touched a high of Rs 55, tumbled down to Rs 30, before recovering some lost ground to close the day at Rs 46.9. During the day, the counter saw clocked a turnover of Rs 11.44 lakh in 224 trades.
The company's issue, which opened on February 12, was divided into book-building portion of Rs 45 crore and a fixed price portion of Rs 5 crore. The issue was marred by controversy as foreign investment is not allowed in the print media. However, the issue went on smoothly and was fully subscribed.
Mid-Day Multimedia, promoted by Mr Khalid Ansari, a veteran journalist, owns a daily newspaper christened `Mid-Day' published from Mumbai, a portal `chalomumbai.com' and a urdu morninger called `Inquilab'. Apart from this the company also owns a magazine called `Sportsweek'.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
