i-flex IPO oversubscribed, says lead manager

MUMBAI: The initial public offering (IPO) of Indian financial software maker
i-flex solutions Ltd. has been oversubscribed 1.09 times a day before its book
is due to close, the lead manager to the issue told Reuters on Monday.

The company, which is 47.47 per cent owned by Citigroup, and makes globally
top-selling banking software products, hopes to raise at least Rs 2.1 billion
($42.86 million).

"Against an issue size of 3.96 million, we have a total response of 4.33
million shares so far," Atul Mehra, head of capital markets at JM Morgan
Stanley told Reuters.

"The book is building between Rs 530 and 540 a share, but the final
decision on price will be taken by the company and the lead manager later.
"We've had a good response from foreign funds in India, the rest of Asia
and the United States," he said.

The book-building exercise began last Wednesday. The issue size of 3.96
million shares amounts to 10 per cent of the company's post-issue capital. In
the past year to March, products formed 60 per cent of Bangalore-based i-flex's
revenue with the balance coming from services, unlike other Indian software
firms which earn most of their income from software services.

i-flex, one of India's top 20 software exporters, reported a 34 per cent
revenue jump to Rs 4.15 billion ($85 million) for the past year to March. Profit
rose Rs 15 per cent to 1.27 billion.

The company has more than 2,000 staff, was built by former employees of
Citigroup, and counts Citibank, Japan's Shinsei Bank, UBS Warburg and
Development Bank of Singapore among its top clients.

(C) Reuters Limited.