Emami Cement gets SEBI approval for initial public offering of Rs 1,000 cr

Emami Cement, which had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in October last year for an initial public offering (IPO) of Rs. 1,000 crore, has received the approval from the regulatory authority this month.

In line with regulatory norms, the company has to float its IPO by May 14, 2020. 

Sources said the company has already appointed five merchant bankers - IIFL Holdings, Axis Capital, CLSA India, Edelweiss Financial Services and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities -  who will decide on the opportune time for the IPO. 

The IPO comprises of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each aggregating up to Rs 1,000 crore comprising a fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 500 crore and an offer for sale up to Rs 500 crore. The offer includes a 5 per cent reservation for subscription by the eligible company employees. 

In its DRHP, Emami Cement said that the fund so raised would be used to reduce the company’s indebtedness which, according to a Crisil report, stands at Rs 2,179.50 crore. Part of the proceeds from the fresh issue of shares are also to be used for general purposes.

However, sources said its IPO got delayed last year because the market conditions were not right.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, Emami Cement had a 5 per cent market share in terms of sales volume, while its installed cement manufacturing capacity of 5.60 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) represented six per cent of the total installed capacity in eastern India.

Currently, it has an integrated cement manufacturing plant at Risda in Chhattisgarh, which has an installed capacity of 3.20 mtpa of clinker and 2.50 mtpa of cement, a second cement grinding plant at Panagarh in West Bengal with 2.50 mtpa of cement grinding capacity and a third 0.60 mtpa plant at Bhabua in Bihar.

It is also in the process of setting up a cement grinding plant at Kalinganagar in Odisha, which will have an installed capacity of 2.50 mtpa and subject to the receipt of necessary approvals.