Infosys aims for elite Nasdaq index
Infosys will soon be the first Indian firm to join the likes of Microsoft on the list, report Arun Kumar and BR Srikanth.
In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian firm to list on the Nasdaq, the US tech stock exchange. By the end of this month, the Indian infotech major will have finished its third US equity issue, mopping up $1.5 billion (Rs 6,750 crore), the largest by any Indian company.
But that is not all. It wants to be part of the elite Nasdaq 100 index on the strength of its US market capitalisation.
And the target seems within reach. With its latest offering, Infosys's free-float market capitalisation (shares not held by promoters and available for trading on the exchange) is set to touch $5.46 billion.
Existing shareholders will sell three crore equity shares of their own to reach the $1.5-billion target. That will be followed by 10.75 crore equity shares of Infy being listed on the Nasdaq.
At the scrip's current price of $50.85, Infy will have a total US market cap of $5.46 billion (Rs 24,500 crore), putting it at 73rd position on the Nasdaq 100.
Microsoft sits on top of the Nasdaq 100 with a market cap of $286 billion, followed by Oracle with $94 billion.
"We want Infosys to be the first Indian company on the Nasdaq 100. This requires that we enhance liquidity on the bourse. The present exercise is a step towards that goal," NR Narayana Murthy, chief mentor at Infosys, said at an extraordinary general meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday.