The Manoj Jayaswal-led Abhijeet Group, being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the controversial coal block allocation, has withdrawn the initial public offering (IPO) plans for its power unit to raise up to Rs 1,375 crore.
DSP Merrill Lynch, the lead manager for Abhijeet Power’s IPO, informed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in a letter dated September 25 that the issue had been withdrawn, information available on the market regulator’s website showed.
The CBI is probing AMR Iron & Steel, an arm of Abhijeet Group, for alleged misrepresentation of facts while seeking allocation of the Bander coal block, about 125 km from Nagpur.
| COSTLY COAL |
|
“Abhijeet Power (APL) is setting up power plants in the states of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar through its subsidiaries and JV, aggregating capacity of 2,761 Mw. Of that, 271 Mw in Maharashtra is operational and the balance 2,400 Mw is under construction. All projects have achieved debt closure and for part-funding of equity for power projects in Jharkhand and Bihar, APL had filed a DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) with the Sebi on June 30, 2011 to raise equity capital of Rs 1,375 crore,” said a spokesperson of Abhijeet Power.
“Since then the promoters have infused additional funds to meet project requirements, resulting in a lower requirement of equity from the IPO. Further, any issuance of equity shares post the DRHP to promoters will result in a change in the capital structure and require fresh filing of the DRHP. In view of that, we will again file a DRHP with the Sebi, subject to suitable market conditions, receipt of requisite approvals and other considerations,” he added.
More From This Section
Abhijeet Power had filed the draft offer document with the Sebi for its IPO in June 2011. The company was looking to raise Rs 1,375 crore through the issue.
The company was also considering raising up to Rs 500 crore through a pre-IPO placement of up to 333.33 million shares.
Abhijeet Power had also said in its draft document that it might issue and allot up to 148 million shares to its promoter, Abhijeet Mining, at a price of Rs 15 a share on a preferential basis.
Apart from Jayaswal, Abhijeet Mining and Corporate Ispat Alloys are the other two promoters of Abhijeet Power.
DSP Merrill Lynch, Enam Securities, Axis Bank, IDFC and SBI Caps were the merchant bankers for the public offering.
Abhijeet Power is currently developing three thermal power projects with a combined installed capacity of 2,671.6 Mw in the states of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar. It was planning to use funds raised through the IPO for its power projects in Jharkhand and Bihar.