Chemicals firm DCW raises debt funding from Kotak Special Situations Fund

By Narinder Kapur

  • 08 Mar 2021
Credit: 123RF.com

Speciality chemicals firm DCW Ltd has raised Rs 410 crore (around $56 million) from Kotak Special Situations Fund through the issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and optionally convertible debentures (OCDs), it said on Monday. 

This exercise consists of Rs 350 crore worth of NCDs and Rs 60 crore of OCDs, with the latter to be converted into equity in 18 months. The NCDs carry a moratorium of 18 months and a tenure of six years. 

Kotak Special Situations Fund, part of Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, was launched in February 2019 and received $500 million from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf emirate. It hit its final close in August 2019 at $1 billion (Rs 7,130 crore then). 

DCW will use the capital raised for refinancing existing term loans and augmenting working capital. This fundraise will also help it enhance capacity utilisation and meet existing product demand, it said in a statement. 

“DCW's credit profile remains stable with positive bias. With the completion of this refinancing, the company has managed to enhance financial flexibility and is on a firmer footing to achieve long-term growth,” chief financial officer Vimal Jain said. 

Shares of DCW Ltd ended trading on Monday up 6.21% at about Rs 30 apiece. The company has seen a 52-week high of around Rs 31, and a corresponding low of about Rs 7. It has a market capitalisation of Rs 782 crore. 

The firm reported net sales and post-tax losses of Rs 1,277 crore and Rs 26.8 crore, respectively, for the 2019-20 financial year. 

DCW, a nearly 100-year-old company, specialises in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated PVC, caustic soda, soda ash, and synthetic iron oxide pigment. The company maintains two manufacturing units, one in Gujarat, and the other in Tamil Nadu.