Ruchi Soya freezes at 20% upper circuit as board okays Rs 4,300-crore FPO

Shares of Ruchi Soya Industries were locked at 20 per cent upper circuit at Rs 964.40 on the BSE on Monday after the edible oil firm announced that it will launch its follow-on public offer on March 24.  The issue will close on March 28, 2022.

The company, which is owned by Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved, proposed to raise up to Rs 4,300 crore. A follow-on offering is an issuance of additional shares made by a company after an initial public offering.

In a regulatory filing late on Friday, Ruchi Soya said a committee of the board has approved and adopted the red herring prospectus (RHP). "The FPO comprises equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each aggregating to Rs 4,300 crore. The issue also includes a reservation of up to 10,000 equity shares for subscription by eligible employees. If such placement is completed, the follow-on size will be reduced," it said in a statement.

Till 10:25 am, around 380,000 shares had changed hands and there are pending buy orders for 100,000 shares on the NSE and BSE. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,377 on June 9, 2021.

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.

In August last year, the company had received capital markets regulator Sebi's go-ahead to launch the FPO. It had filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in June 2021. The company is coming out with the public issue to meet Sebi's norm of minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent in a listed entity.

The company proposed to utilise the proceeds towards repayment and/ or pre-payment, in full or part, of certain borrowings availed by the company and funding incremental working capital requirements of the company.