Ruchi Soya FPO: Sebi orders retail investors be allowed to withdraw bids

Sebi's directive comes amid 'circulation of unsolicited SMSs advertising the issue'; the window for withdrawal shall be available on March 28, March 29 and March 30, 2022

Market regulator Sebi has on Monday directed Ruchi Soya to give the option to the FPO investors (apart from anchor investors) to withdraw their bids due to “circulation of unsolicited SMSs advertising the issue”. The regulator has said prima-facie the contents appear to be "misleading/fraudulent".

The window for withdrawal shall be available on March 28, March 29 and March 30, 2022.

An SMS is to be sent to all the applicants of the received bids, informing them of the additional window of withdrawal. A notice to investors shall be issued in the form of an advertisement in the newspapers, which will be issued on March 29 and March 30, 2022, said Ruchi Soya in a stock exchange filing.

Ruchi Soya’s follow-on public offering (FPO), which closed on Monday, garnered 3.6 times subscription, including 0.9 times of the retail portion getting subcribed. Sebi’s diktat could delay the listing process and also increase the risk of IPO getting unsubscribed if large number of investors withdraw their bids, said bankers.

Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved-owned Ruchi Soya had last week hit the capital market to raise Rs 4,300 crore through its follow-on public offer (FPO) as it aims to become a debt-free company.

The issue closed on March 28. The price band has been fixed at Rs 615 to Rs 650 per share.

Ruchi Soya Industries had raised Rs 1,290 crore from anchor investors ahead of its FPO.

The foreign investors, which received allocation under the anchor investor portion of the FPO, include Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, The Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, Yas Takaful PJSC (an Abu Dhabi based insurance company), MK Cohesion, UPS Group and Alchemy.

Post the FPO, Patanjali Group's holding in Ruchi Soya will come down to about 81 per cent, and the public will hold about 19 per cent.

In 2019, Patanjali acquired Ruchi Soya, which is listed on the stock exchanges, through an insolvency process for Rs 4,350 crore.

Ruchi Soya primarily operates in the business of processing oilseeds, refining crude edible oil for use as cooking oil, manufacturing soya products and value-added products. The company has an integrated value chain in palm and soya segments, having a farm-to-fork business model.

It has brands like Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Nutrela.