The initial public offering (IPO) of Gopal Snacks managed to sail through during the second day of the bidding process, thanks to buying interest from retail and HNI investors. The bidding for the issue had begun on Wednesday, March 06 and it ended the first day of the bidding with a subscription of 56 per cent. The Rajkot-based Gopal Snacks is selling its shares in the price band of Rs 381-401 apiece. Investors can apply for a minimum of 37 shares and its multiples thereafter. It is looking to raise Rs 650 crore via IPO, which is entirely an offer-for-sale of Rs 650 crore by the promoters and other shareholders of the company. According to the data, the investors made bids for 1,21,16,242 equity shares, or 1.01 times, compared to the 1,19,79,993 equity shares offered for the subscription by 1.30 pm on Thursday, March 07. The three-day bidding for the issue will conclude on Monday, March 11. The allocation for retail investors was subscribed 1.55 times, while the portion reserved for non-institutional investors saw a subscription of 98 per cent. Employee portion was booked 2.70 times. However, the quota set aside for qualified institutional bidders (QIBs) attracted bids for only eight per cent as of the same time. The grey market premium of Gopal Snacks has seen a sharp correction following volatile market sentiments and less-than-expected listings of recent issues. The company is commanding a premium of Rs 30 in the unofficial market, suggesting a listing pop of about 7-8 per cent for the investors. However, the premium in the grey market stood around Rs 120 earlier. Gopal Snacks, incorporated in 1999, is a FMCG company dealing in ethnic and Western snacks, and other products in India and across the globe. The company offers a variety of snack products including ethnic snacks like namkeen and gathiya, as well as western snacks such as wafers, extruded snacks, and snack pellets. Analysts are mostly positive on the issue of Gopal Snacks citing its expansion plans, strong hold in the markets, robust financial performance and solid business growth over the years. However, they see the complete OFS nature of the issue, stiff competition and aggressive pricing as the key risks for the business. We expect Gopal Snacks to grow its topline in low teens over the next 2-3 years in line with the Indian savoury snacks industry which is forecasted to grow at 11.7 per cent CAGR during FY23-27E. Its overall margins are higher when compared with key industry players mainly on account of lower advertising expenses in per cent of revenue, said Nirmal Bang Securities. "It spends less than 1 per cent of revenue on advertising and promotional expenses which is expected to see gradual increase in the upcoming years. Major revenue from Gujarat and limited presence in other regions has provided it with great opportunity to penetrate further in existing as well as new regions," it added with subscribe rating on the back of reasonable valuations. Gopal Snacks raised Rs 193.95 crore from anchor investors, allocating them 48,36,657 shares at a price of Rs 401 apiece. Gopal Snacks has reserved 50 per cent of the net offer for qualified institutional investors (QIBs), while non-institutional investors (NIIs) will have 15 per cent of allocation. Retail investors will have 35 per cent of the net issue reserved for them. Gopal Snacks (GSL) is the biggest producer of 'gathiya' snacks. The company produces a variety of packed snacks that are ready to eat, such as ethnic namkeen, wafers, snack pellets, and other fast-moving consumer goods. Gujarat is a stronghold for GSL, said Swastika Investmart. "Some key risks require careful consideration that the business is subject to seasonality and the market is quite competitive. While It has posted growth in its top and bottom lines. The IPO valuation of 44.45 times P/E appears fairly priced on a current basis. While the company's future growth potential and the positive industry outlook are encouraging," it added with a 'subscribe' tag. Axis Capital, Intensive Fiscal Services and JM Financial are the book running lead managers of the Gopal Snacks IPO, while Link Intime India is the registrar for the issue. Shares of the company are likely to debut on both BSE and NSE and March 14 is the tentative date of listing.