Startup funding in India continues to run deep in the SME lane: Core4 Engineers Limited's initial public offering opened for subscription on Friday, October 23, and will close on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with listing scheduled on the BSE SME platform.
What the money will fund
The company aims to raise ₹54.82 crore through an entirely fresh issue of 58,94,400 equity shares, priced in a band of ₹88–₹93 per share. Ahead of the issue, Core4 allotted 15,44,400 shares to five anchor investors at ₹93 apiece — worth about ₹14.36 crore — per an exchange filing dated October 22. The largest allocation, 8,06,400 shares (52.21%), went to Vikasa India EIF I Fund–Incube Global Opportunities; LRSD Capital, Shine Star Build CSD, Evergrow Capital Opportunities Fund and Teal Rise Fund I took the rest.
The net proceeds will fund capital expenditure for acquiring land and a building to establish a new manufacturing facility and corporate office, plus incremental working capital and general corporate purposes. The lot size is 1,200 shares, with a minimum application of 2,400 shares (₹2,23,200 at the upper end of the band); allotment is expected on October 28 and listing on October 30. Socradamus Capital is the book-running lead manager and Purva Sharegistry the registrar.
The company's journey began in 2014 under Managing Director Agrahara Chamaraje Gowda Abhinandan, and it now works across railway electrification, power transmission and distribution, water and wastewater treatment, and automation systems.
Why it matters for founders
SME IPOs like Core4's — ₹54.82 crore, anchor-backed, with proceeds tied to a new manufacturing facility — show that public markets are open for profitable infrastructure businesses far below unicorn scale. For founders in unglamorous B2B verticals, the BSE SME route remains one of India's most reliable liquidity paths.