You can't blame them for wanting to start an airline. Vijay Sankeshwar and Anand Sankeshwar, promoters of VRL Logistics are, after all, among those who have made a fortune as a result of the success of IPOs of their companies. Last year, in April, VRL's IPO had valued the promoter stake at Rs 1,300 crore. On listing, the value of the stake had risen to Rs 1,862 crore. A couple of months ago, they showed interest in starting a regional airline by diluting 2 per cent stake. The company's shares plunged. They dropped the plan. As on September 29, their wealth stood at Rs 1,905 crore.
Every bull run leads to the emergence of new billionaires. The current one is no different. Just like the promoters of VRL Logistics, Arvind Lal of Dr Lal Pathlabs, too, has made windfall gains. In fact, listing has nearly doubled his wealth.
Samarth Jagnani, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Banking, says, "The entire diagnostic and hospital sector in India is valued at around $2 billion. Investors, especially the foreign ones, see huge potential in this space and, hence, are showing interest in a stock like Dr Path Labs."
Similar has been the case with Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, whose personal wealth through Narayana Hrudayalaya stood at Rs 2,057 crore. A. Velumani's stake in Thyrocare Technologies is valued around Rs 890 crore, up from Rs 661 crore when the company's IPO was launched.
But the biggest beneficiaries of listing have been IndiGo's Rakesh Gangwal and Shobha Gangwal, whose stakes at the current stock price of Rs 899.15 per share are valued around Rs 5,472 crore and Rs 3,134 crore, respectively. The values had surged to as high as Rs 8,490 crore and Rs 4,860 crore, respectively.
If a company sticks to its mandate, the market rewards it, but if promoters try to take investors for granted, they are punished, which was visible in case of VRL Logistics. A perfect example is Educomp Solutions, which tried its hands in too many things and lost focus. This saw the company's market capitalisation plunge from Rs 9,800 crore to the current Rs 142 crore.