Afcons Infra raises ₹1,621 cr from anchor investors; IPO opens today

Ahead of the opening of the initial public offering (IPO) today, construction and engineering company Afcons Infrastructure has raised ₹1,621 crore from anchor investors. The Mumbai-based company allocated over 35 lakh equity shares to 80 anchor investors at the upper end of the IPO price band at ₹463 per share on October 24, 2024. The three-day public offer will close on October 29, while the tentative date for listing of shares on the BSE and NSE is November 4, 2024.

As per the exchange data, the anchor book saw participation from foreign and domestic institutions such as HDFC Mutual Fund (MF), ICICI Prudential MF, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Group, Nomura, Nippon India MF, Enam Holdings, Mirae MF, Quant MF, Invesco MF, Eastbridge, Amundi, Invesco HK and SBI General Insurance.

Out of the total allocation, 11.7 lakh equity shares were allocated to 15 domestic mutual funds through a total of 31 schemes, amounting to ₹542.2 crore, or 33.44% of the total anchor book size.

The Shapoorji Pallonji group’s flagship plans to raise ₹5,430 crore via IPO route at a price band of ₹440-463 per share. The scheme is a combination of fresh issuance of equity shares worth ₹1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth ₹4,180 crore by its promoter Goswami Infratech.

The company has already raised ₹2,896 crore in the pre-IPO round, which saw participation from some marquee investors such as GIC Singapore, Enam Holdings, Synergy Capital, 360 One, Quant MF, and others. As many as 29 investors acquired 6.25 crore equity shares (around 18.36% of pre-IPO offer capital) from promoter Goswami Infratech, at ₹463 per share.

Out of ₹1,250 crore raised from fresh equities, the company intends to use ₹150 crore for capital expenditure towards purchase of construction equipment; ₹350 crore for funding long term working capital requirements; ₹500 crore for prepayment or scheduled repayment of a portion of certain outstanding borrowings and acceptances availed by the company. The remaining fund will be used to meet general corporate purposes.

The company has reserved half of the issue for qualified institutional buyers, up to 15% for non-institutional bidders, and up to 35% for retail individual bidders. The offer includes a reservation for subscriptions by eligible employees. The lot size is 32 shares and in multiple thereafter and the minimum application amount for retail investors is ₹14,816.

Afcons operates across five major infrastructure business verticals - marine and industrial, surface transport, urban infrastructure, hydro and underground, and oil and gas. It ranks among the top international contractors globally in marine and port facilities, bridges, transportation, and transmission line segments based on international revenue for the financial year 2023, according to the Fitch Report.

As of September 30, 2023, Afcons was actively involved in 67 active projects across 13 countries. Its order book increased at a CAGR of 7.6% from ₹26,248.46 crore in the financial year 2021 to ₹30,405.77 crore in the financial year 2023. As of September 30, 2023, it stood at ₹34,888.39 crore.

Some Brokerages, including Canara Bank Securities Ltd, KR Choksey Securities Ltd, Marwadi Shares and Finance Ltd and Swastika Investmart Ltd, have given "Apply" recommendation to Afcons Infrastructure IPO, while Cholamandalam Securities has "Neutral" view about the issue. Axis Capital, JM Financial Services and SBICAP Securities have "Not Rated" the IPO.

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