India's Rentomojo jumps on debut as investors embrace furniture rental play (updated)
UPDATE 2-India's Rentomojo jumps on debut as investors embrace furniture rental play Adds latest share movement, analyst comment and background
By Surbhi Misra
Sept 17 (Reuters) - Indian furniture rental firm Rentomojo's RENT.NS shares jumped more than 32% in its trading debut on Thursday, after its $133 million initial public offering drew strong investor demand.
It is also India's first listed furniture rental firm, giving public-market investors exposure to a segment where it competes with privately held Furlenco and Cityfurnish.
The market is expected to more than double to $9.31 billion by 2031, driven by demand for furnished housing and flexible offices, according to market research firm Ken Research.
Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at WealthMills Securities, said Rentomojo's relatively unique business model had attracted investor interest.
The Bengaluru-based company's business model also includes household appliances and electronics - from iPhones to air coolers - and operates via subscription plans. It also manages the products, including refurbishment, servicing and redeployment.
Shares were trading at about 524.50 rupees as of 2:24 p.m. IST, valuing the company at 54.61 billion rupees ($569.43 million), after listing at a 19.4% premium to the issue price of 404 rupees. Earlier, it had hit an intraday high of 534 rupees.
Rentomojo's listing comes amid a rebound in India's primary market after a sluggish start to 2026 due to the Middle East conflict.
The IPO was subscribed nearly 73 times, led by qualified institutional buyers, who bid for more than 177 times the shares reserved for them.
It comprised a fresh issue of shares worth 1.50 billion rupees and an 11.06 billion rupee offer for sale by shareholders, including Accel and Edelweiss Financial Services. The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to repay debt and pay rent for warehouses and retail stores.
($1=95.9000 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Harikrishnan Nair)
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