Ahead of the initial public offering (IPO) opening, Gujarat-based specialty chemicals company Aether Industries Limited has raised Rs 240 crore from 13 anchor investors including SBI Mutual Fund, Ashoka India Opportunities Fund (White Oak), The Nomura Trust and Goldman Sachs Funds, among others.
IIFL-backed Aether allotted equity shares of 37,42,495 at Rs 642 a piece, as per a BSE filing.
Out of the total allocation of 37.4 lakh shares to the anchor investors, 18,22,313 shares were allocated to six mutual funds amounting to Rs 117 crore, 49% of the total anchor book size, the company said in a statement.
Domestic funds like Axis Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, IDFC Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, Max Life Insurance in the anchor book along with FPI like IIFL UCAL, Allianz Global Investor and Amundi mutual funds picked up additional shares.
The IPO will open on Tuesday and close on Thursday and consists of a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating to Rs 627 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2,820,000 equity shares.
The proceeds from its fresh issuance worth Rs 163 crore will be utilised for funding capital expenditure requirements for the proposed greenfield project in Surat; Rs 137.9 crore for the repayment or prepayment of borrowings, in full or part of all or certain borrowings and Rs 165 crore for funding working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.
The firm has fixed a price band of Rs 610-642 per share for its issue.
Aether Industries started with a research and development (R&D) unit in 2013 and began commercial production in 2017. It was co-founded by Ashwin Jayanthilal Desai, who also previously founded listed company Anupam Rasayan, his wife Purnima Ashwin Desai, and his sons Rohan Ashwin Desai and Aman Ashwinbhai Desai.
The company caters to the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, material science, coatings, high performance photography, additives and oil and gas segments of the chemicals industry.
Aether’s revenue from operations grew 49% to Rs 449.8 crore in FY21 from Rs 301.8 crore in FY20, while its net profit climbed 78% to Rs 71.1 crore from Rs 40 crore during the same period.
