UB to raise Rs 600 cr via QIP in Dec

UB Holdings will raise Rs 600 crore via qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares in December, UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya said today.

The company intends to repay a substantial amount of its debt through the funds raised via QIP. It aims to settle all of its high-cost debt by the end of December.

Regarding the investors who have expressed their interest in QIP, Mallya said, "there are many who are interested, but we will select."

Mallya would also invest about Rs 720 crore in UB Holdings via the issue of warrants.United Breweries also plans to raise Rs 425 crore by means of rights issue of equity shares to meet its increasing capital expenditure programme.

To a query on the time frame for rights issue of equity shares by this company, Mallya replied, "as soon as we get the regulatory approval."

UB Group's Pune-based company, UB Engineering would also raise Rs 60 crore through a rights issue of equity shares, Mallya said.

On potential real estate projects, Mallya said, "wherever we have surplus land, we will maximise the value of that land through development on similar concepts such as UB City."

UB City in Bangalore is nearing completion and is likely to be operational in six months. Most of the commercial spaces have already been taken by leading domestic as well as multinational companies. UB City will get an annual rent of about Rs 24 crore, Mallya said.

UB Holdings shares closed at Rs 1,131 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, up 0.4 per cent from Tuesday. United Breweries shares ended flat at Rs 324.80 and UB Engineering shares at Rs 131.35, up 5 per cent, on BSE.