Allied Blenders Ltd gets Sebi's approval to float Rs 1,500-crore IPO

Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, the maker of Officer's Choice Whisky, has received Sebi's go-ahead to raise Rs 1,500 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), an update with the markets regulator showed on Tuesday.

The initial share sale comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 1,000 crore and an Offer-for-Sale (OFS) of shares to the tune of Rs 500 crore by promoters, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

As a part of the OFS, Bina Kishore Chhabria, Resham Chhabria Jeetendra Hemdev and Neesha Kishore Chhabria will sell shares.

Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, which filed preliminary IPO papers with Sebi in January, obtained its observations on May 10, the update showed.

In Sebi's parlance, obtaining observations means its go-ahead to float the public issue.

As per the draft papers, proceeds from the fresh issue worth Rs 720 crore will be used for the payment of debt, besides, a portion will be used for general corporate purposes.

The total debt on the company's books was around Rs 808 crore as of December 2023.

With a market share of over 8 per cent in the Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) market by sales volumes in Fiscal 2023, Allied Blenders and Distillers had earlier filed draft papers with Sebi in 2022 for Rs 2,000 crore IPO.

The company got Sebi's approval to float the maiden public issue but did not proceed with the launch.

Allied Blenders and Distillers is engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and sale of alcoholic beverages in India and abroad.

The product portfolio of the firm comprises several brands of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) across whisky, brandy, rum and vodka.

Some of the major brands of the company include Officer's Choice Whisky, Sterling Reserve Whisky, Jolly Roger Rum and Class 21 Vodka.

In addition, Chhattisgarh-based Vraj Iron and Steel received Sebi's go-ahead to float the IPO. The proposed IPO is a fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 171 crore with no OFS component.

The company filed its draft IPO papers with Sebi in January and received its observations on May 7, the update showed.

The equity shares of both companies are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE.