BENGALURU, Oct 26 Reuters Shares of IRM Energy fell as much as 10.9 in trading debut on Thursday, valuing the Indian natural gas distributor at 18.48 billion rupees 222.03 million in a weak market.

The stock fell to a low of 450 rupees in early trade after opening at 477.25 rupees. Its initial public offer IPO price was at 505 rupees.

The benchmark Nifty 50 was down 1.3, while the more domesticallyfocused midcap and smallcap stocks declined more than 2 each.

Investors bid for about 206.3 million IRM Energy shares by the final day of subscription, 27.05 times more than the 7.6 million shares on offer, exchange data showed.

The IPO was wellreceived by investors and oversubscribed. However, the current market condition could be a reason behind a poor listing, said Shivani Nyati, head of wealth at Swastika Investmart.

The company, with a diversified customer portfolio and distribution network, is wellpositioned to benefit from the growing demand for natural gas in India, Nyati added.

The IPO of IRM Energy, a group company of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, comprised of fresh issue of 10.8 million shares worth 5.44 billion rupees, according to the prospectus.

The company plans to use about 3 billion rupees of proceeds from the IPO to fund the development of the gas distribution network in Namakkal and Tiruchirappalli in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The Ahmedabadbased company builds, operates and expands the gas distribution network for industrial, domestic and…