Speciality chemical company Aether Industries has finally filed preliminary documents for an initial public offering of as much as Rs 1,000 crore, a move that was highly anticipated earlier this month. The company is aiming to raise money from the primary market as the Company has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator SEBI.
As per market participants, the company is expected to raise Rs. 1000 Crores. According to the DRHP, the initial public offering (IPO) consists of a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating to Rs. 757 Crores, and an offer for sale of up to 2,751,000 equity shares. The company in consultation with lead managers may also consider raising Rs. 131 Crores by issuing equity shares through a preferential offer, before the filing of the DRHP.
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd have been appointed as merchant bankers to advise the company on the public issue.
According to the F&S Report stated in its DRHP, “Aether has been a pioneer in the Indian Specialty Chemicals market. Expertise in a large range of chemistries allows Aether to support multiple end-use industries. All the chemistry and technological competencies have been developed in-house which is a huge strength of Aether’s R&D team. Aether is one of the largest manufacturers in India for the extremely versatile competency of tandem Grignard and ethylene oxide chemistry. Aether is also one of the few companies in the speciality chemicals sector that have deployed continuous reaction technology as a core technology competency at all stages (R&D, Pilot Plant and large scale manufacturing).”
Aether has already raised Rs.100 crore as pre-IPO funding from White Oak Capital and IIFL. For FY21, its net revenues grew 50% at Rs.450 crore and profits were up 75% at Rs.71 crore.
