The company, part of the Rs 1000 crore HCL group, is offering 1,45,000 equity shares of Rs 4 each. Ninety per cent of the issue will be done through the book-building route and 10 per cent through fixed price.

Although an indicative price band has been fixed, company vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar said the price could be higher depending on the bids received. The issue size would vary from Rs 640 crore to Rs 770 crore based on the price band, making it the largest IPO from a domestic IT company so far. The proceeds of issue will be used for acquiring new businesses through joint ventures, partnership and acquisitions. A five-member team has already been formed to identify and integrate the target companies for mergers and acquisitions. The size of the target company would be in the region of around $ 100 million, Nayyar said. The primary aim of the acquisition would be for new businesses.

Bids will be received from November 16 to November 24, based on which the final pricing will be announced on November 25. The fixed price portion will be offered to the public on December 10. In all, 25 per cent of the issue will be reserved for retail investors of which 15 per cent will be through the book-building route. "The percentage could even go up depending on the bids received," Nayyar added. A unique feature of the issue will be the direct involvement of the National Stock Exchange and BSE in the book-building process for the first time. The NSE will accept bids from retail investors through its members in 11 cities till 3 pm on all trading days. The bids can also be revised.

NSE vice-president Ashwin Chauhan said 160 members (360 users) had already signed up for it as on Wednesday. "Mock trading sessions are already being carried out to train the members on the software," he said. The software has been developed in-house and the NSE eventually plans take it to all 291 cities where it has trading terminals. The exchange is also conducting workshops on the subject in the four metros, with a view to equip its members for future issues through this route. Retail investors will also be able to avail finance from ICICI Securities for bids up to 500 shares. Bids for over 500 shares will be treated as wholesale bids. HCL Technologies had a consolidated revenue of Rs 722 crore and net earnings of Rs 96 crore for the financial year ended June 30, 1999.