Brookfield-backed Clean Max's India IPO subscribed 94% on final day of bidding

By Surbhi Misra and Abhirami G

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Brookfield-backed Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions' 31 billion-rupee ($341 million) initial public offering, was subscribed 0.94 times as of 5:10 pm IST on Wednesday, exchange data showed, in a muted reception for India's biggest IPO of the year so far.

The power producer, which supplies green energy to clients including Amazon AMZN.O and Google GOOGL.O in India, drew bids for 20.6 million shares versus 21.8 million on offer.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The IPO comes amid a slow start to India's primary market in 2026, with five listings so far compared with 10 in the same period a year earlier.

KEY QUOTES

"A muted opening is largely driven by market sentiment - it's not in the company's hands," Clean Max's managing director Kuldeep Jain told Reuters. "Markets are soft and IPO markets are weak, and investors are nervous."

He said a softer listing would not change the company's operating or execution plans.

CONTEXT

India is in the middle of a rapid build-out of AI infrastructure, with global players such as Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms META.O, Microsoft MSFT.NS and Reliance RELI.NS expanding capacity.

The surge in AI-led infrastructure is expected to boost demand across the power, electrical equipment and construction sectors, with Nomura forecasting an acceleration in growth in India's construction sector in the next few quarters.

Data and AI, a segment that has grown nearly tenfold between March 2024 and October 2025, accounts for 44% of Clean Max Enviro's revenue, Jain told Reuters.

BY THE NUMBERS

Clean Max is raising 12 billion rupees through a fresh issue and 19 billion rupees via an offer for sale, seeking a valuation of about 123.3 billion rupees.

Qualified institutional investors drove demand, subscribing 2.83 times, while non-institutional and retail bids stood at 0.54 times and 0.06 times, respectively.

The stock is set to list on March 2.

($1 = 90.9700 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M, Surbhi Misra and Abhirami G; writing by Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Krishna Chandra Eluri)