EKI Energy rides climate change bandwagon to riches

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Editor's note: It was the kind of initial public offering of shares one would hardly pay any attention to. An IPO by a company with Rs 66 crore revenue, looking to raise a mere Rs 18 crore and list on BSE's small and medium enterprise platform. Besides, the issue was being lead-managed by an obscure investment banker. But those shares were the best performers in the market last year, rising 10,000% in a matter of 10 months.  EKI Energy Services, in its public issue last April, offered 1.8 million shares at Rs 102 each. The stock opened at Rs 140, but three months later its price had jumped 10 times. By December it was already up 100 times, having crossed Rs 10,000 a share.  The company’s market capitalization went from Rs 70 crore at the time of the public issue to over Rs 7,500 crore when the stock hit a peak of Rs 12,599 last month. It now trades at Rs 9,355, valuing the company at Rs 6,431 crore. That’s not all. EKI Energy, which was incorporated in 2011 and advises clients …