Brookfield REIT, at its recent virtual roadshow of an upcoming REIT IPO, lead banker to Rs. 3,800 crore, carelessly mentioned minimum non-institutional portion application (i.e. for HNI and retail investors) as Rs. 2 lakh. What took us by surprise is that none of company’s three senior management personnel present on the dais, neither 8 other merchant bankers to the issue bothered to correct it.

Few minutes later, one of the participant asked for clarification, that minimum lot size of 200 units at price of Rs. 275 works out to Rs. 55,000. MD of said lead banker, having proudly lead the previous 2 REIT issues in Indian markets, clarified that the minimum lot size is indeed Rs.55,000, but justifying the earlier mention of Rs. 2 lakh as earlier regulations.

Minimum application for non-institutional category had already been brought down to Rs. 50,000 last year itself, during Mindspace REIT, while the same investment banker had successfully closed with 12x over-subscription.

We wonder the kind of preparation and sincere efforts that goes into a mammoth fund raise! Or is it Retail/HNI portion of Rs. 950 crore, not a priority or of any significance for the company and its bankers? Media and Investment bankers have generally seen to rude and unkind with retail investors and seen them using for accomplishing their own goals.