Utkarsh Small Finance Bank gets Sebi's go ahead to float Rs 500-crore IPO

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank has received capital markets regulator Sebi's go ahead to raise Rs 500-crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The Varanasi-headquartered Small Finance Bank’s (SFB) IPO is a complete fresh issue of shares and the entire proceeds will go to the lender, according to Draft Red Herring Prospectus.

The lender may consider issue of securities aggregating up to Rs 100 crore in a pre-IPO placement round. If such placement is undertaken, the fresh issue size will be reduced. The SFB, which filed fresh draft papers with Sebi in August, obtained its observation letter on October 21. In Sebi’s parlance, obtaining its observation letter implies the markets watchdog's approval to launch the IPO.