Abhijeet Power plans listing to raise Rs 1,500 cr

The Abhijeet group plans to list its power business. Abhijeet Power, the company which is part of the Nagpur-based metal and mining group, will soon file its draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Sebi. The company is looking to raise Rs 1,200-1,500 crore through a public issue.

With this, the company will join the list of power companies planning to tap the market to finance their expansion needs. Companies such as Jindal Power, Ind Barath Power and Avantha Power are looking to enter the public markets and some have already received approvals.

Chief Financial Officer of the group, Rajesh Tulsiani, told Business Standard they plan to raise around Rs 200-500 crore from private equity players through a pre-IPO placement. “After an approval for our DRHP, we will have a window of three to four months for a pre-IPO placement,” he said. The timing of the IPO, however, will depend on the market conditions and could hit the markets before the end of the current financial year. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Enam Securities, UBS, SBI Caps, Axis Bank and IDFC Capital markets are the merchant bankers for the public offering.

The funds raised through this fresh equity of shares will be used for two of the group's power projects in Jharkhand and Bihar. The company is developing a 1,080 megawatts power project in Jharkhand with a total investment of Rs 5,900 crore and the first phase is expected to be operational in 2012. It is also developing another 60 Mw plant in Saraikela in Jharkhand, along with its steel plant.