A bumper IPO makes THIS IIT-M alumnus India's newest billionaire

New Delhi: Latent View Analytics Limited's initial public offering, or IPO, was a big hit on Dalal Street when it went public earlier this week. The Latent View shares traded at a 169 percent premium to the final offering price of Rs 197 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). While the news was fantastic for all of the lucky investors who received shares during the Latent View IPO share allotment, one person became a billionaire. The entrepreneur of digital solutions firm Latent View Analytics Limited, Adugudi Viswanathan Venkatraman, is now worth more than a billion dollars.

Latent View Analytics Limited's chairwoman and executive director, Venkataraman, owns 117.91 crore shares in the firm. This means he owns 69.62 percent of the company. Venkataraman's share in Latent View is at Rs 8,275 crore, which is roughly $1.11 billion, based on the closing price on Thursday, November 25. On the BSE, the stocks ended the day at Rs 702.35.

Adugudi Viswanathan Venkatraman is a businessman with a diverse portfolio. The techie earned his bachelor's degree from IIT-Madras and his master's degree from IIM Calcutta, two of the country's best educational institutions. Following that, he worked for IT giant Cognizant. He has worked in IT services, credit research, and business consultancy for several years. Since January 3, 2007, Venkataraman has served as a director of Latent View Analytics, and in August 2021, he was appointed to chairman and executive director of the firm.

Earlier this month, the Chennai-based startup made headlines when it set a new record by being subscribed 338 times over its issue size during its initial public offering. This was far greater than the IPOs that followed it, which included high-profile startups like as Nykaa, Paytm, and PolicyBazaar. The bidding process generated around Rs 1.13 trillion due to high investor demand.

On November 23, the company's stock made a strong debut in the market, debuting at a premium of over 48% to its issue price of Rs 197 per share at the upper end of the price band. For two sessions in a row, the stock broke through the 20% resistance level. The stock is currently selling at a premium of over 256 percent to its issue price. The shares was priced at Rs 527 at 10 a.m. on November 23, up 166% from the issue price.

Based on its expertise in the entire value chain of data analytics, from data and analytics consulting to business analytics and insights, advanced predictive analytics, data engineering, and digital solutions, Latent View Analytics Ltd (LVAL) is one of India's leading pure-play data analytics services companies. Through its subsidiaries in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, as well as sales offices in San Jose, London, and Singapore, the company services clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Non-institutional investors could bid for 15% of the shares, while qualified institutional buyers could buy up to 75% of the shares. The final ten percent was set aside for ordinary investors. The proceeds from the new issue would be used to fund inorganic growth plans (Rs 147.9 crore) and working capital requirements of LatentView Analytics Corporation, the company's substantial subsidiary (Rs 82.4 crore). The funds would also be utilised to invest in subsidiaries in order to boost the company's capital base and for general business objectives.