Sebi orders 3-day window for investors in Ruchi Soya FPO to withdraw applications

Published on Mar 29, 2022 09:46

Sebi`s directive came amid the circulation of unsolicited SMSes advertising the FPO issue. The messages, that were allegedly sent to Patanjali Ayurved users, recommended them to invest in the offer.

The SMS contained forward-looking statements with regard to Ruchi Soya`s share price performance to attract investors to the FPO.

Sebi has directed the lead banking managers to issue a notice to all the investors cautioning them of such circulation of unsolicited SMSes.

"All investors/bidders (except anchor book participants) shall be given an option to withdraw their bids. The window for withdrawal shall be available on March 28, March 29 and March 30, 2022. The procedure for withdrawal shall be informed to investors and shall form part of the advertisement being issued," Sebi directed.

Additionally, Sebi has asked the bankers to immediately notify the stock exchanges on circulation of such unsolicited SMS. This disclosure should clearly state the information pertaining to the window of the withdrawal available to the investors in the ongoing follow-on public offer.

A SMS has to be sent to all the applicants of the received bids, informing them about the additional window for withdrawal of these bids, the regulator directed.

Ruchi Soya`s FPO closed on Monday (28 March 2022). It was subscribed 3.60 times on the final day of bidding. The issue received bids for 17,60,68,935 equity shares against the issue size of 4,89,46,260 equity shares.

The portion reserved for retail individual investors (RIIs) was subscribed by 90% with bids of 2,19,58,230 equity shares against offered 2,44,68,045 equity shares. Meanwhile, the portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) got subscribed by 2.20 times and that of non-institutional investors (NII) by 11.75 times.

The issue also included a reservation of upto 10,000 equity shares for eligible employees. The employees category was subscribed 7.76 times against the reserved portion.

The FPO consists of fresh issuance of equity shares for an amount aggregating to Rs 4,300 crore. The price band for the offer was fixed at Rs 615-650 per share. The issue opened for public participation on 24 March 2022.

Post FPO, Patanjali`s shareholding in the edible oil manufacturer will reduce to 81% while public shareholding will rise to 19%.

Ruchi Soya is recognized amongst the largest branded oil packaged food company. Its `Ruchi Gold` brand has a market leadership position, on account of being India`s highest selling palm oil brand and also the pioneers and largest manufacturers of soya foods in India under the brand name of `Nutrela`. It has launched its nutraceuticals under the joint branding of `Patanjali and Nutrela`.

Net profit of Ruchi Soya Industries rose 2.92% to Rs 234.07 crore on 40.65% rise in net sales to Rs 6280.46 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

Shares of Ruchi Soya Industries surged 7.02% to trade at Rs 872.25 on the BSE.