Tonbo Imaging IPO Closes 133 Times Subscribed as QIBs Bid 293 Times, But Valuation Leaves Little Room

The initial public offering of Tonbo Imaging India closed on Monday with one of the strongest final-day surges of the season. The Rs 852 crore issue was subscribed roughly 133 times overall by the end of bidding, according to exchange data compiled by brokerages, after sitting at under 8 times at the close of day two.

Where the demand came from

Qualified institutional buyers drove the late rush. Their portion, excluding anchor investors, was subscribed 293.56 times, with bids for more than 71 crore shares against about 24 lakh on offer. At the upper price band, that is roughly Rs 50,000 crore of institutional demand chasing a slice worth about Rs 170 crore.

Non-institutional investors bid between 156 and 171 times their portion, depending on the time of the snapshot, with the large-ticket bucket above Rs 10 lakh at about 185 times. Retail investors subscribed around 31 times and the small employee quota about 54 times. Total bids across categories, excluding anchors, were worth close to Rs 79,000 crore for shares worth about Rs 597 crore.

The pattern matters. Institutions bid only about 4 times their quota over the first two days and then piled in on the last day, a common tactic that also tends to pull wealthy individual investors along. The company had already raised Rs 255.36 crore from 43 anchor investors before the issue opened.

What the company does

Tonbo, incorporated in 2003, designs and makes electro-optic and infrared systems for defence and security forces: thermal imagers, weapon sights, missile seekers, fire-control and targeting systems. It says it is India's largest supplier of thermal imaging systems to government and defence agencies and has more than 28,000 systems deployed across 24 countries. Its products are built on its own intellectual property and are free of US ITAR export restrictions, which lets it sell abroad without American approval.

Why the valuation deserves scrutiny

The headline subscription number hides a weaker set of fundamentals. Revenue fell 22.7% in FY26 to Rs 362.65 crore from Rs 469.08 crore, and profit after tax dropped to Rs 50.88 crore from Rs 72.76 crore.

At the upper band of Rs 700, the issue is priced at about 79 times FY26 diluted earnings of Rs 8.88 a share, which implies a market value of roughly Rs 4,000 crore, or about 11 times last year's sales. That is a premium to Bharat Electronics at around 46 times and in the same range as Data Patterns at about 87 times, though both of those companies have been growing, not shrinking.

The order book also looks thin for the price. Orders on hand stood at Rs 314 crore as of June 2026, less than one year of FY26 revenue. Defence contracts tend to arrive in large, lumpy batches, so a single big order could change the picture quickly, but investors are paying today for growth the company has not yet shown.

Two more points stand out. The issue is entirely an offer for sale, so Tonbo itself receives none of the money; it goes to selling shareholders. And the company relies on a small number of overseas suppliers for critical parts such as infrared sensors, OLED microdisplays and specialised optics, an exposure that sits uneasily with its self-reliance pitch.

Next steps

The basis of allotment is expected on October 21, refunds and credit of shares on October 22, and listing on the BSE and NSE on October 23. With demand this heavy, most retail applicants are unlikely to receive shares. The listing will test whether the enthusiasm for India's defence theme can outrun a falling top line.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.