Popular Vehicles and Services Ltd files IPO papers with Sebi again

Popular Vehicles and Services Ltd, which is engaged in automotive dealerships, has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial share sale.

This is the company's second attempt to go public.

Earlier, the company filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in August 2021 for floating an Initial Public Offering (IPO) but deferred the maiden public issue amid uncertain market conditions.

According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed on Thursday, the IPO comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 250 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 1.42 crore equity shares by Banyantree Growth Capital II, LLC.

Besides, the company is looking to raise Rs 50 crore in a pre-IPO placement round. If such placement is undertaken, the fresh issue size will be reduced.

Proceeds of the fresh issue will be used for payment of debt and general corporate purposes.

The Kerala-based company is a leading diversified automotive dealership in the country with a presence across the automotive retail value chain, including the sale of new passenger and commercial vehicles, services and repairs, spare parts distribution, sale of pre-owned passenger vehicles, and facilitation of the sale of third-party financial and insurance products.

It operates passenger vehicle dealerships of Maruti Suzuki, Honda, and JLR and the commercial vehicle dealership of Tata Motors.

ICICI Securities, Nuvama Wealth Management, and Centrum Capital have been appointed as merchant bankers to advise the company on the IPO. The equity shares of the company will be listed on the BSE and NSE.