Biocon unit, Nuziveedu Seeds file draft IPO papers
Hybrid seeds company Nuziveedu is looking to raise up to Rs700 cr; Biocon's Syngene aims to raise up to Rs600 cr
Mumbai: Blackstone Group-backed Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd and Biocon Ltd’s custom research arm Syngene International Ltd on Wednesday filed draft red herring prospectuses (DRHPs) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for their initial public offers (IPOs), according to documents available on the website of investment banks and people aware of the development.
Nuziveedu is looking to raise up to ₹ 700 crore through the sale, said a merchant banker involved in the process. He declined to be named.
The firm has hired JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd, JP Morgan India Pvt. Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd and IDFC Securities Ltd to manage the offer.
“The issue will involve a primary share sale of ₹ 125 crore and the rest of the issue will be an offer for sale by promoters and Blackstone, which will be making a partial exit from its investment in the company," said another merchant banker involved in the process, who also declined to be named.
The firm aims to use the primary proceeds from the IPO for loan repayment, he said.
According to the DHRP, the promoters intend to offer up to 9.89 million equity shares for sale, while Blackstone wants to offer 1.97 million shares. Blackstone holds a 10.56% stake in the company, the document states.
Set up in 1973 by Mandava Venkatramaiah, Nuziveedu is the largest hybrid seed company in India in terms of volumes of Bt cotton seed packets sold in 2012-13, according to the company’s website.
It is involved in the business of developing, producing and marketing hybrid seeds such as cotton and rice. Blackstone acquired a minority stake in the firm by investing around $50 million in 2008.
Meanwhile, Biocon’s subsidiary Syngene is looking to raise up to ₹ 600 crore through its share sale, said a third merchant banker, who is involved in the process. Biocon aims to sell 22 million shares through Syngene’s public offer, according to the firm’s DRHP.
Credit Suisse Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd, Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd and Axis Capital Ltd are managing the issue for Syngene.
This year, 12 companies have filed DRHPs for their first public offers. These include companies such as Prabhat Dairy Ltd, Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd, Dilip Buildcon Ltd and S.H. Kelkar and Co. Ltd.
Four firms have raised ₹ 2,028.7 crore through IPOs so far this year, according to Prime Database, a primary market tracker.
While the IPOs of VRL Logistics Ltd and Inox Wind Ltd were oversubscribed by almost 74 times and 18 times, respectively, Adlabs Entertainment Ltd and Ortel Communications Ltd struggled to attract investors.
MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd, a firm involved in tolling operations and maintenance of roads, is running its public offer. Its IPO closes on 23 April.
Mumbai-based UFO Moviez India Ltd will launch its IPO on 28 April to raise up to ₹ 600 crore.
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