ICICI Bank raises Rs 15,000 cr in equity; issue price at Rs 358 per share

Private sector lender ICICI Bank has raised Rs 15,000 crore (about $ two billion) through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) of equity shares (418.99 million) at issue price of Rs 358 per share.

The issue price represents a 1.9 per cent premium to the floor price determined based on the pricing formula as prescribed under SEBI Regulations. The floor price was set at Rs 351.36 per share.

The issue price represents a discount of 1.5 per cent to the closing price of the Bank’s equity shares on the BSE/NSE prior to the launch of the issue, bank said in a statement.

Bank would primarily use the proceeds of the issue to strengthen the capital adequacy ratio, improve the Bank’s competitive positioning and/ or general corporate requirements.

ICICI Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 16 per cent with Tier I at 14.72 per cent as on June 30, 2020.

The Bank is well-positioned to serve the market and benefit from the opportunities that would arise going forward.

The equity issuance witnessed healthy participation from the global and domestic investor community, including foreign portfolio investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies.

The names of allottees include Monetary Authority of Singapore (11.08 per cent), Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc (7.31 per cent) and Societe Generale (5.55 per cent).

Many private sector lenders have raised funds to create a buffer so that they are in a position to absorb any kind of shock emanating from the pandemic. Axis Bank has raised equity capital of Rs 10,000 crore through QIP and Mortgage Lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) also raised Rs 10,000 crore equity capital.

Many state owned lenders like Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank are also in the process of raising funds.